The ruling BJP and its allies are already working overtime to make a further dent in the Dalit vote bank.
The BJP plans to continue to woo the ‘labhartis’ with sops and has deployed its foot soldiers to create greater awareness about welfare schemes launched by the Central and state governments for the weaker sections.
Dalits form a large chunk of ‘labhartis’ (beneficiaries of government schemes) and supported the BJP in the 2022 assembly elections which led to the decimation of the Bahujan Samaj Party.
The BSP was left with just one seat in the House of 403 members – the party hit rock bottom with this election.
The main problem with the BSP is that the party does not have any second rung leadership left that could be accessible to its voters.
Mayawati remains locked in her ivory tower and her nephew Akash Anand is equally unwilling to reach out to party cadres. As a result, the grassroot workers in the BSP are moving towards other parties.
The BSP has also not taken the trouble of visiting the homes of those Dalits who have faced atrocities in the past few years.
Meanwhile, even as the BJP focuses on OBC sub-castes and Dalits to improve its tally in 2024, the Samajwadi Party is working on its PDA strategy which targets ‘Pichhda, Dalits, Alpasankhayak’.
The SP is using leaders like Swami Prasad Maurya to chip away at the BJP’s inclusive ‘Hindu First’ policy and statements against the ‘Sanatan Dharma’ and Ramcharitmanas are a part of the strategy.
Maurya is already drawing the ire of the upper caste Hindus in his party but SP president Akhilesh Yadav has not yet reined him in which makes it obvious that Maurya is working on the party strategy.
“We do not believe in the brand of Hinduism that alienates Dalits and OBC sub-castes. Sanatan Dharma does this. We are all for a religion that includes everyone and does not differentiate on the basis of caste or class,” said a Maurya supporter.
The Samajwadi Party plans to wean away Dalit voters with help from Dalit leaders of the BSP who have joined the SP and these include the likes of Swami Prasad Maurya, Lalji Varma, Inderjit Saroj.
The party is using cases of Dalit atrocities to highlight the anti-Dalit mentality of the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, with the Hathras rape case being the focal point.
The Congress, on the other hand, is also banking on ‘borrowed’ leaders from the BSP like Naseemuddin Siddiqui and Nakul Dubey to win back its Dalit support.
The party is hopeful that Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra that highlighted his image as a pro-poor leader, will help the party gain ground in Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, another emerging force among the Dalits in UP, especially western UP, is Chandra Shekhar of Bhim Army.
Though the Bhim Army has not yet achieved any electoral success but its growing popularity and friendship with the Rashtriya Lok Dal may make it a spoiler for other parties in the Lok Sabha polls.
If this happens, it could literally be the end of the road for the BSP and its leaders who have called the shots on the strength of Dalit voters so far.
–Ajit Weekly News
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News Credits – I A N S
