Estranged coalition partner of the BJP, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has entered into an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to thwart the Saffron Party's plan to woo Dalits ahead of the assembly elections to be held in the year 2022.
Fearing a backlash of ongoing farmers' agitation against three farm laws, BJP has diverted all its energy to rope in prominent Dalit leaders of Punjab to counter the 'annoyed' upper castes farmers, predominately the Jats.
"As we are facing the wrath of agitating farmers, the party has redevised its strategy in Punjab. We are now focussing on Dalits", a senior core group leader of Punjab BJP told International Business Times, adding "This time we will project a Dalit as Chief Minister of Punjab in next assembly elections".
Wishing anonymity, he revealed that the party was already in touch with prominent Dalit leaders of Punjab including some Scheduled Castes (SCs) faces of the Congress party.
Importance of Dalits in Punjab politics
Punjab has the highest population of Dalits, 33 percent, in the country. As per the 2011 census, out of the total Dalit population, 73.3 percent live in rural areas, while 26.67 percent live in urban areas. Out of 117 Vidhan Sabha seats, 34 are reserved for SCs in Punjab. While focusing on this 33 percent vote bank, BJP has devised a strategy to neutralize opponent parties, dominated by Jats, in the rural areas of Punjab.
Despite having a 33 percent vote share in state politics, there is a feeling of being 'ignored' among Dalits so BJP is trying to woo this marginalized section of the society by projecting a Scheduled Caste as the next chief minister of Punjab.
BJP's 'Dalit outreach' yields some result
A video of Gurmel Singh Khalsa, a former Dalit Sarpanch of Punjab's Bathinda area, has gone viral on social media. The ex-Dalit Sarpanch is seen praying for the next Chief Minister of Punjab from the SC community and appreciating BJP for promising the same.
BJP has already appointed former Union Minister Vijay Sampla as chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC). Sampla belongs to Punjab and he is focussing on his home state. Already, Som Parkash, who is a Lok Sabha member from Hoshiarpur, is a union minister. BJP is claiming that the party has empowered the Dalits of Punjab.
While addressing a function on Dr. B R Ambedkar Jayanti this year, BJP national general secretary, Tarun Chug, announced that the BJP will have a Dalit Chief Minister if the party would come to power in Punjab.
BJP has already applied a similar strategy in Haryana
In the neighboring state of Haryana, the BJP has successfully applied the strategy by appointing a non-Jat as chief minister. The politics of Haryana is dominated by Jats.
