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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.
Time of India
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
In Dalit outreach, BJP to tap 300 SC intellectuals in every UP district
Lucknow: In a strategic move, the BJP has charted out an exhaustive plan to tap at least 300 Dalit intellectuals in each district of Uttar Pradesh to bolster its SC outreach campaign, which was kicked off by the party on the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar earlier this month. In this way, the BJP aims to reach out to nearly 22,500 educated and influential people within the Dalit community—a move that could potentially help the saffron outfit counter the opposition's Pichhda, Dalit, Alpasankhyak (PDA) narrative, which is said to have dented the party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Sources said the party think tank roped in its SC Morcha to carry out the drive while aiming to augment its grassroots machinery through the deployment of more Dalit functionaries at the booth, sector and mandal levels. UP BJP SC Morcha chief Ram Chandra Kannaujia said teams comprising at least 25 Dalit functionaries have been constituted for the purpose. "Each team would reach out to five people from the SC intellectuals and apprise them of the initiatives taken by the party for the welfare of the Dalits in the last 10 years," he said. Kannaujia said it will be a comprehensive drive aimed at strengthening the party's organisational network while neutralising the opposition's campaign vis-à-vis Dalits. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Sources said the BJP plans to convince the influential class to help the party consolidate the poorer sections from Dalit, which, they say, tend to get swayed by the opposition. The development draws a stark contrast with the RSS's Hindutva plank. Recently RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat gave a clarion call of "ek mandir, ek kuan, ek shamshaan" (one temple, one well, one cremation ground), which underscored the Sangh's assertive bid to blur caste lines within the Hindu community. The BJP's strategy of balancing its Dalit-specific outreach campaign with its core Hindutva ideology , experts said, highlights its nuanced approach. By tapping into the Dalit intellectuals, the party seeks to secure support from this crucial social group while maintaining the broader appeal of Hindutva that has been central to its identity since the peak of the Ram Temple movement of the 1990s. This dual approach allows the BJP to engage with the Dalit communities strategically—as seen in its SC-focused campaigns—while continuing to leverage its Hindutva rhetoric to strengthen its base, especially among upper-caste Hindus. The blend of these two approaches is seen to consolidate a wide-ranging coalition of voters— something which has proved successful for the party since 2014 when the party rose like a political behemoth under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. Analysts say that the BJP, nevertheless, will face the challenge of balancing these competing efforts without alienating any caste group.
