LUCKNOW: In a move aimed at luring away the vote bank of SP and BSP , UP CM Yogi Adityanath told the UP assembly on Thursday that his government might consider giving quota within quota to most backward classes (MBCs) and 'maha dalits' (most backwards among dalits) in government jobs.

Speaking about opening up vacancies in police and education, Yogi said the SP government had played with the lives of youths and failed to help them get jobs. "We have announced 4 lakh vacancies in the government departments. Earlier, the court had put a stay on recruitment because it knew that the government in power then was corrupt. We are recruiting on merit and have done away with interviews. However, we are not doing away with reservation. If need be, we could also consider reservations (within quota) for MBCs and dalits," he said.

Coming days after BJP's defeat in Gorakhpur and Phulpur bypolls, Yogi's announcement is an attempt by the party to regain its support base among non-Yadav OBCs (like Kurmis, Nishads and Rajbhars) and non-Jatav dalits (like Pasis), who had helped it score big wins in 2014 Lok Sabha and 2017 assembly polls.

