UP Elections: In Eastern Region, Dalits Search for Alternatives

 Lenin Raghuvanshi, a Varanasi-based #dalit rights activist, political thinker and social entrepreneur, gave a context to this apparent strategy.

“The community is still oppressed. Since 'upper' caste people generally surround their ghettos, they live under their influence. Fearing consequences and possible harassment, they either prefer to keep mum about who they are going to vote for, or they voice in favour of the party — which has the support of the majority of the area," he explained.

The reality, he said, is that their vote will go in favour of the party the BSP wants them to shift to. “If the BSP's candidate of the particular constituency is in the contest, dalits, especially jatavs and #musahars, will wholeheartedly support the party. And if not, the votes will split among #BJP, Samajwadi Party (#SP), #BSP and #Congress. One thing is for sure in this election: SP has managed to eat into BJP's support base of dalits to a large extent," he claimed.

According to him, the pollsters are utterly wrong by not counting BSP and Congress in the ongoing polls that have already been held on two-thirds seats.

“BSP’s votes are still largely intact, and the party is capable enough to transfer its votes to the party it wants to return to power,” he added.

Asked what led the dalits to abandon BSP and rally behind BJP in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the 2017 Assembly polls, he said: "Dalits are considered a homogenous community, which is not true. There is an internal difference even within the community. There are outcasts among outcasts. For instance, musahars, doms (scavengers) and valmikis are discriminated against within the larger dalit community. The jatavs and others don't marry their son or daughter in these two caste groups."

“The role of the opposition was to engage in the social awakening of the entire community. They had the responsibility to bridge the gap by bringing them into mainstream society. Unfortunately, this did not happen, and the gap between the shudra and ati-shudra kept widening to the extent that except jatavs, the majority of the dalit community went in favour of the saffron party," he continued.

He said the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) was “intelligent” enough to understand the importance of the community in the state’s electoral politics. And therefore, RLD reached out to ‘bahujans’ (more commonly known as Other Backward Classes) by holding a series of interactions in different districts of western Uttar Pradesh. “It was the first occasion when jats were having discussions with dalits in a cordial atmosphere without any discrimination. It resulted in a new political equation that will impact the electoral outcomes on March 10 (the day of results of UP elections) for sure,” he concluded.             

Ayar village pradhan Rajendra Prasad Maurya too, sounded almost on the same line. The movement of the social and political awakening of dalits launched by BSP founder late Kanshi Ram, he said, was long lost as Mayawati measurably failed to carry forward his legacy. He alleged that Behenji (BSP chief Mayawati) worked on one-point agenda: sell party tickets in lakhs or crores and make money.

“She only capitalised on dalits but did not do anything substantial for their social, economic and educational upliftment. Therefore, many dalit communities began distancing themselves from BSP and went closer to the BJP, which had emerged as a ray of hope for many as the party had ruled the state, not for a longer period like the BSP and the SP. The community was again betrayed after the BJP tried to snatch their reservation and impose majoritarianism," he said.

Therefore, Maurya predicted, a large majority of the community, especially the educated lot, will vote against BJP, at least in the eastern belt of the state. "But it is difficult for an outsider, who does not well understand the community, to feel this undercurrent as this section of voters is not outspoken and prefers to vote silently," he added. Despite facing discrimination and atrocities, dalits have traditionally maintained proximity with the country's upper and feudal classes.

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