Pune Election Candidate, D S Kulkarni (DSK) explains BSP ‘social engineering’

I would soon be carrying a proper interview with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate for Pune Loksabha elections, Shri. D S Kulkarni (DSK). However while the DSK office processes the full interview, they were kind enough to put me on the phone with Shri. Kulkarni. Below is my record of our brief interaction. Will have the full interview up soon.

* Please note that the phone call came as a surprise to me and so could not record or note down Shri. Kulkarni’s answers. The answers below are as I remember them and not verbatim.

1. The BSP idea of social re-engineering has been getting a lot of attention of late. Could you elaborate on what it means and its relevance to Pune?
   Social Engineering is about bringing all communities together. For example, when Dr. Ambedkar’s statue was desecrated in Kanpur, there were riots in Maharashtra but not in Kanpur. This was because Kanpur has seen the social engineering of the BSP and so communities are not fighting each other but moving forward together. Thakurs, Brahmins, Dalits… all communities are now working together for development.
2. BSP has an image of being a party for the underprivileged and does not have any long established connection with the Pune middle class. How will the BSP connect and address issues of the Pune middle class?
   Pune is a city of intellectuals who are well read and well informed. Puneites are not locked into any one party. The Congress & BJP have both divided society. The BSP promises to take all segments forward. In a recent forum in Model Colony in Pune, I was thought to be best suited to represent Pune. If distinguished members at the forum and people from an educated neighborhood like Model Colony found me well suited to represent Pune, I should be good for all Pune. Puneites should vote for who they think is the best candidate.

* List of all candidates for Pune LokSabha Seat Elections
* You are free to copy / share the contents of this post as per the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 India license.
* I am in touch with most of the top contenders for the Pune Loksabha seat. If all goes well, will soon post those interviews on HarshadOak.com.