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Indian Express
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Why Anupriya Patel's party has placed a little-known Dalit leader at the helm in UP
Though the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are a couple of years away, parties in the state are already jostling for the all-important Dalit vote, with a OBC party like BJP ally Apna Dal (Soneylal) that draws its support from mostly the Other Backward Classes (OBC) Kurmi community also making efforts to reach out to Dalit communities. To that end, the party on May 29 appointed R P Gautam, a Jatav leader, as its state president. Gautam is from Sitapur and currently serves as the president of the Apna Dal's cooperative wing. Since he is little known — he has not contested any election till now — the party is planning to increase his visibility among people through public meetings that party chief and Union Minister Anupriya Patel is also likely to attend. According to insiders, Gautam's name was finalised after a group of top party leaders, including Anupriya and Uttar Pradesh Minister Ashish Patel, her husband, held a series of meetings in Delhi and Lucknow over the last month. Explaining why Gautam was chosen, a party leader said, 'Other Dalit sub-castes are scattered and are concentrated in certain regions and districts, but Jatavs are spread across all 403 Assembly constituencies of the state and number around 30,000-50,000 in each seat.' The move comes close on the heels of the Samajwadi Party (SP) stepping up its efforts to reach out to Dalits and inducting Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder-member Daddu Prasad. The party also held week-long celebrations to commemorate Dr B R Ambedkar's birth anniversary on April 14. Recently, when its MP Ramji Lal Suman came under fire for his alleged derogatory comments on Rajput king Rana Sanga, the SP countered by saying the attacks were 'anti-Dalit'. Dalits make up 21% of Uttar Pradesh's population, of which Jatavs make up 14%, followed by the Pasis at 7%. While Jatavs are seen to be the core voter base of the Mayawati-led BSP, Pasis have rallied behind the SP since last year's Lok Sabha elections. After bagging the most parliamentary seats from UP, the SP promoted Faizabad MP Awadesh Prasad, who belongs to the community. Another Apna Dal said that support from the Jatavs, combined with the party's core Kurmi and Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) support base, will put it in a good position in next year's local body elections as well as the Assembly polls. At present, the party has 13 MLAs while Anupriya is its sole Lok Sabha MP. Senior Apnal Dal leaders pointed to the successes the BSP achieved when its Jatav support base combined with OBC faces such as Ram Khelawan Verma, Babu Singh Kushwaha, and Lalji Verma. The social combination, according to the leader, has been the foundation of the Apna Dal since its inception in November 1995 by Sonelal Patel who, he said, was an avid follower of BSP founder Kanshi Ram. Though Sonelal Patel did not win any election, he made his presence felt in the state's politics and rose to become a Kurmi face. The Apna Dal currently holds sway in areas such as Prayagraj, Kaushambi and its adjoining districts. Ashish Patel said the Apna Dal's foundational value was always uplifting the suppressed classes. 'Of our 13 legislators, five are from Dalit communities (three Jatavs, one Kol and one Pasi), five from the Kurmi community and one each from the Brahmin, Muslim and Sonar communities. This is evidence that our party gives representation to all the communities,' he said. Though it came as a surprise to many that Gautam was appointed, it is not the first time that the party has chosen a Dalit leader to helm its Uttar Pradesh unit. Earlier, Jamuna Prasad Saroj, a Pasi leader, led the state unit. The rejig was necessitated after the party's state executive was dissolved about a year ago following the resignation of former state chief Rajkumar Pal, an OBC leader. Alleging that Ashish and Anupriya Patel were 'ignoring' him and 'not keeping him in the loop' about party affairs, Pal had said in his resignation letter that the party had deviated from the ideology of Ambedkar and Sonelal Patel. A senior Apna Dal leader said Pal's 'odd behaviour and other activities' had led to the state executive being dissolved and claimed that the former state chief 'had been warned several times' about his actions.
The Print
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Behind Apna Dal (S) naming a Dalit UP chief, a bid to cut into BSP's voter base
Gautam, an old loyalist and the party's co-operative wing chief, has now taken up the responsibility. The 60-year-old hails from the Sitapur district, and has also been a Dalit rights activist and social worker for the past two decades. Earlier this month, the former state president, Raj Kumar Pal, had resigned from the position after accusing Anupriya and her husband Ashish Patel—a minister in Uttar Pradesh cabinet—of neglecting him and mistreating party workers. Lucknow: Union Minister Anupriya Patel's Apna Dal (Sonelal) appointed Jatav R.P. Gautam as the president of its Uttar Pradesh unit Thursday, in a move which is being viewed as the party's attempt to woo the Dalit community. The position of state president was previously held by an OBC leader (Pal), but now the party has picked a Jatav (segment of Dalit community) leader for the role for the first time in a bid to increase its outreach, according to party functionaries. 'This is the first time we have appointed a Jatav state chief, in line with our social engineering plan. We are hoping for positive results,' Ashish Patel told ThePrint. A senior functionary said, on the condition of anonymity, that the party wants to step out of the image of an OBC party. 'This move comes at a time when the support base of BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party), which is considered the first choice of Jatavs, has been shrinking for the last few years. Jatavs are looking for an alternative. So, our leadership has decided to focus on increasing its base. The population of Jatavs is above 12 percent in the state, which is significant in creating an impact in electoral politics,' the leader told ThePrint. Now, as the party focuses on the preparation for the upcoming local body elections this year and the 2027 assembly elections, Gautam has been given this big responsibility, he added. However, Apna Dal (S) is not the only party eyeing BSP's core vote bank. The Samajwadi Party's 'Pichda, Dalit, Alpasankhyak (backward-Dalit-minority)' plank got a big boost in April this year, following the induction of former minister and BSP founding member Daddu Prasad, along with a few other local BSP leaders. Before this, SP had inducted several BSP leaders last year, too. Additionally, SP's district units had also held a week-long 'Swambhiman Samman Samaroh' to mark the birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar this year. The aim was to reach out to prominent members of the Dalit community at grassroot level and felicitate them. Similarly, Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad-led Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) is also planning to expand their base, having completed the process of appointing local units in all 75 districts of the state. UP-based political analyst Shilp Shikha Singh explained that BSP's 'downfall' has opened up space for other parties in terms of the Dalit voter base. 'Every party has realised after Lok Sabha results in UP that there is scope to gain this 'loyal' vote bank of the BSP, as the old party is not able to perform well in polls. The grand celebration announcements on Ambedkar Jayanti last month have also given a hint that every party is eyeing Dalit votes. As of now, it seems like a smart move by a BJP ally (Apna Dal).' (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: Why Raj Kumar Pal stepped down as UP chief of Apna Dal (S), a '2-personality show'
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
To consolidate SC votes, BJP to reach out to 6,000 influential Dalits
1 2 Lucknow: In a bid to consolidate support among Scheduled Castes, BJP has decided to launch another outreach campaign aimed at engaging 1,000 influential Dalit personalities in each of the six organisational regions of Uttar Pradesh. The campaign will be spearheaded by party's SC Morcha in coordination with senior state functionaries. A campaign plan was recently drawn up by the BJP central leadership, which asked the state unit to reach out to the various sub-castes within the Dalits, including Jatavs, Pasis, Koris and Dhobis. "We will gather broader feedback from the influential sections amongst the Dalit and take corrective measures wherever needed," UP BJP SC Morcha president Ram Chandra Kannaujia told TOI on Friday. The campaign is seen as part of a broader electoral strategy to counter opposition narratives while reinforcing the BJP's footprints in the SC-dominated constituencies. BJP has demarcated UP into six organisational regions: Kashi, Gorakhpur, Awadh, Kanpur, Braj and western UP. Sources said that a dedicated team of party functionaries has been tasked to identify prominent Dalit people, including retired bureaucrats, teachers, social workers, religious figures, community leaders and professionals, whose influence could potentially impact a collective opinion within the SC community. The outreach comes at a time when the BJP faces stiff competition from the Opposition, primarily the Samajwadi Party and its ally Congress, besides the BSP, which have historically enjoyed significant support among Dalit voters. Kannaujia said that the campaign will aim to intensify its messaging around social justice, economic empowerment, and welfare measures targeted at SC communities. Experts said that personal interaction with influential Dalit figures can help dispel perceptions of exclusion and infuse a sense of political inclusion amongst the Dalit community. The campaign also aims to highlight the role of Dalit leaders within the BJP itself. Plans are also afoot to organise felicitation programmes and community service events in Dalit-dominated areas. These events will serve as platforms for dialogue on govt policies and community welfare. The development comes days after BJP initiated a 'dialogue' programme in various districts. The programme was spearheaded by state general secretary (organisation) Dharam Pal Singh. These meetings aimed to boost the morale of Dalit functionaries and prepare them for future campaigns, sources said. Though assembly elections are still two years away, BJP's early start signals its intent to consolidate its support base and blunt any early moves by its political rivals. Party analysts believe that the Dalit vote, which constitutes over 21% of UP's population, could be a deciding factor in several tightly contested seats. "The idea is not just to win elections, but to win trust," said a BJP SC Morcha leader. "Our party believes in Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, and we are proving that through direct engagement and representation," he said.
