Battle for Dalit votes heats up in poll-bound Haryana
Along with the dominant Jat community that comprises approximately 27% of the electorate, Muslims who make up 7% and Sikhs who are about 5%, the Congress’s internal surveys told the party brass that it could have got up to 70 seats in the 90-seat assembly, according to people in the know.
NEW DELHI There’s a certain concern that’s crept into the otherwise confident camp of the Congress in Haryana. Could the internal rift between former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and member of parliament Kumari Selja, or at least the perception of it, have dampened what they hoped was a sure-shot chance with the 20% Dalit vote?
Along with the dominant Jat community that comprises approximately 27% of the electorate, Muslims who make up 7% and Sikhs who are about 5%, the Congress’s internal surveys told the party brass that it could have got up to 70 seats in the 90-seat assembly, according to people in the know. However, after the ticket distribution made it clear that Selja’s suggestions were rebuffed, there is a fear that followers of the senior Dalit leader may be angry with the party.
“Now our estimates stand at 55-60 seats,’’ said a key party strategist. To be sure, both the Congress and the BJP have given an equal number of 17 seats to Dalit candidates in reserved constituencies. However, Selja’s picks are now limited to just the 5 or 6 of these 17, who are incumbents. The rest are Hooda’s recommendations.
“The problem is that the community will consider those candidates their own, who are recommended by a Dalit leader. If they are picked by a general leader, then they may not be seen as representative of the oppressed classes,’’ the above strategist explained.
It’s a theory that has enthused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which has held at least two press conferences on the issue, led by state general secretary Archana Gupta. “Kumari Selja was not there at the launch and her photo isn’t anywhere. It’s just the Hooda’s,’’ she said, “This shows the Congress party’s record on the issue. All this talk of Dalit emancipation is just that.”
The Congress refuses to acknowledge this publicly. In fact, Hooda has reprimanded Selja’s detractors by saying that the person who made an offensive remark about her has no place in the Congress. They say that it doesn’t matter who recommended a candidate, as long as all groups get representation.
Asked about an upset Selja, Deepender Hooda told reporters on Saturday: ” We are fighting the polls together and all leaders will be seen together on the campaign.”
Congress spokesperson Ved Prakash, too, said: “All this is the BJP’s propaganda. There is no such problem in the Congress. We are about to win with a comfortable majority.”
In the run-up to the 2024 general elections, the big change in the Congress was to embrace the politics of caste and to demand equality for backwards and Dalits. As insiders explained, they went from being a party that advocated a casteless society to one that realized that inequities in caste exist and therefore, the need to fight for their rights. In this relatively new phase, many insiders feel that the party needs to be more demonstrative in its actions.
For instance, the party is highlighting that it fielded 20 OBC candidates, as opposed to the BJP’s 19. The BJP has given tickets to 16 Jats, focusing on other communities, as seen in 11 given to Brahmins as opposed to five by the Congress.
