Ravi Kant, professor, Lucknow University, countered Lal's statement, saying that he wasn’t aware of Nehru ever supporting a review of reservation in services. "Maybe the issue was regarding political quota (reservation of seats in Parliament and state assemblies), extended every 10 years, in which the common man has little interest," Kant added.

But BJP leaders and workers have continued to make statements on the topic, exacerbating the issue. Lallu Singh, the sitting BJP MP from Faizabad, sparked a row when campaigning at a chaupal in Milkipur assembly constituency on April 15.

"More than two-thirds majority is needed to amend or make a new Constitution," Singh said. When reporters asked him to elaborate and clarify the statement, Singh defended his statement saying that the Constitution has been amended several times in the past through due process.

On the other hand, the Opposition has launched a "Save Democracy, Save Constitution" campaign to counter BJP’s aggressive narrative.

Despite being a major beneficiary of various government welfare schemes, a chunk of the economically weaker castes, including the Scheduled Castes, seem to be moving away from the ruling party. They consider BR Ambedkar as their icon who gave them the Constitution as protective gear.

"Fears about changes in the Constitution are palpable," said Satya Prakash Teetal, a Dalit activist associated with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Every morning, Teetal pays obeisance to a portrait of Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram, the founder of BSP, before venturing out of his home in Agra.

“We were born with blue blood in our veins (referring to the BSP) and Behenji Mayawati remains our icon. But we will have to resort to tactical voting in this election to save the Constitution."

The plan to vote tactically, according to him, hinges on supporting the strongest candidate against the BJP. “Wherever our (BSP) candidate will be weak, we will support the Opposition alliance.”

Teetal said he read the Congress manifesto in detail and found it comprehensive. He wrote a letter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, wishing him luck for the election.

"He responded too,” Teetal added. "According to him, Dalits, who wanted the BSP to join the Opposition alliance, now want to display their prowess and participate in 'satta parivartan' (change of power)," he said.

Devaki Nandan Sone, a Dalit scholar from Agra, agreed that the fear that the Constitution will be changed is now ingrained in the minds of the Dalit community.

However, he dismissed Teetal's "tactical voting plan". "While intellectuals and the youth will support the alliance or the party with the best chance of defeating the BJP, the illiterate class will vote for the BSP. The community has been averse to voting for the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the past but today they face a bigger crisis as when there is no Constitution, who will protect them? Mayawati remains their undisputed leader and they accept her political decision of not joining the alliance but the need of the hour is to protect the Constitution," he said.

Sone added that the BJP-RSS leadership was compelled to issue clarifications after they realised the damage — the fear that the Constitution could be changed in Parliament through a majority vote is all-pervasive.

Criticising the BJP for seemingly playing a double game, he said their leaders promise to "end reservation" as they are out to appease the upper castes — a vote bank they built on this promise.

Political expert Badri Narayan, however, said the fears may not necessarily convert into negative votes against the BJP. “Yes, the Constitution is akin to a precious holy book for educated Dalits. They are alarmed. But the impact on the masses in polling will be negligible.”

A Dalit professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University, who did not wish to be named, said: “The BJP’s slogan of 400+, coupled with murmurs about their plans to change the Constitution has unnerved the Scheduled Castes. As such they get no protection at police stations and have no voice in Parliament. They don’t even trust the Opposition alliance. Meanwhile, the intellectual class and the young, who have not faced the brunt of casteism are getting disillusioned by the BSP. In this scenario, the NDA or Sangh Parivar is very active in the field, garnering their support.”

The Dalits seem to be left with no option but to vote for the stronger candidate against the BJP or the alliance, the professor added.

Dalits form 21% of Uttar Pradesh's population and are likely to vote in two ways. The Jatavs, who are economically poor, may stick with the BSP, whereas the youth and intellectual groups could vote for the Opposition alliance — the emergence of Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav's Pichde, Dalit, and Alpasankhyak (Backward, Dalit and minorities) formula under which his party gave ticket to a Dalit woman in Meerut.

Other subcastes like Pasis and Balmikis will likely be divided sharply between the BJP and the Opposition alliance.

Is it the beginning of Congress winning back its traditional vote bank of Dalits — even in minuscule numbers — this election? We will know after June 4.

Sunita Aron is a consulting editor with the HT based in Lucknow. You can find her on X as @overto. The weekly column, Keeping up with UP tackles everything from politics to social and cultural mores in the country's most populous state. The views expressed are personal.