Haryana Election 2024: BJP is trying to play the Dalit card in the Haryana Assembly elections. Almost all the big leaders of BJP including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are trying to raise the issue of Dalits vigorously. The party has also loudly expressed the displeasure of Dalit Congress leader Kumari Selja. Congress is being called anti-Dalit through Gohana incident and Mirchpur incident.
The major reason behind these efforts of BJP is considered to be the setback on five seats during the Lok Sabha elections. The slipping Dalit vote bank was considered to have a major role in the defeat on five seats in the Lok Sabha elections. Congress had succeeded in setting the narrative that if BJP came to power, it would end reservation by amending the Constitution. This is the reason why BJP is quite aggressive on this issue, while on the other hand, Congress has also become alert in view of BJP’s aggressive campaign.
Dalit card of PM Modi and Shah
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left no stone unturned in calling Congress anti-Dalit and anti-backward in the election rallies of Haryana. PM Modi said that Congress has always worked to deceive Dalits and backward people. Home Minister Amit Shah has also raised the issues of backward people and Dalits very loudly. During the Lok Sabha elections, the party had to suffer a huge political loss due to Dalit voters being alienated from the BJP. This is the reason why the party is making a lot of noise regarding this issue during the assembly elections.
During the Lok Sabha elections, Congress had succeeded in giving a shock to BJP by raising the issue of Agniveer and farmers along with reservation. The resentment of farmers and Jat voters in Haryana also cost the BJP heavily. Farmers and Jat voters are still not seen in the BJP’s camp and hence the party is trying to solve the Dalit and OBC equation.
Why Dalit and OBC vote bank fight?
The fight between Dalit and OBC vote bank in Haryana is not spontaneous. There are concrete reasons for the bitter fight between Congress and BJP to capture this vote bank. If we look at the caste data of voters in Haryana, the highest number of 33 percent voters are OBC voters. The number of Jat voters is about 27 percent and the number of Dalit voters is about 21 percent. If the number of OBC and Dalit voters is added, its figure reaches around 54 percent.
Desperate to capture power in Haryana for the third consecutive time, BJP has set its eyes on this 54 percent vote bank. 17 assembly seats in the state are reserved for Scheduled Castes, while in 35 out of 90 seats, OBC and Dalit voters have the potential to bring victory to any party. This is the reason why BJP is trying to tap this vote bank.
Threat from regional parties along with Congress
If we look at the 2019 assembly elections, BJP was successful in winning 21 seats while Congress was successful in winning 15 seats. Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party had won eight seats. Dushyant Chautala’s alliance with BJP has broken. Due to the resentment of Jat voters, it is necessary for BJP to win these seats but Congress remains a big hurdle in between. Chautala’s opposition and anti-incumbency wave have also increased the problems of BJP.
On the other hand, Abhay Chautala’s party Indian National Lok Dal has formed an alliance with BSP and Dushyant Chautala’s JJP has formed an alliance with Nagina MP Chandrashekhar’s Azad Samaj Party. Due to the political battle between BSP chief Mayawati and Chandrashekhar, the possibility of burglary in the Dalit vote bank cannot be ruled out. For this reason, BJP is in danger of breaking into the Dalit vote bank not only from Congress but also from regional parties.
Congress had given a shock in the Lok Sabha elections
During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Congress had made a major dent in the Dalit vote bank. Out of 47 assembly seats with more than 20 percent SC voters, Congress had won on 25 seats while BJP candidates had got lead on only 18 seats. AAP had also defeated BJP on four seats. Earlier in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the picture was completely different. BJP was ahead in 44 out of 47 assembly constituencies while Congress was ahead in only two seats.
In the 2019 assembly elections, BJP Dushyant Chautala’s party was successful in forming the government with the support of JJP, but if we look at the results, the party suffered a setback on the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes. The party could win only 5 out of 17 seats. Earlier in the 2014 assembly elections, the party had won nine seats.
BJP is playing cards through Nayab Singh Saini
To unite the backward vote bank, this time BJP has declared Naib Singh Saini, who belongs to the backward community, as the CM face. Actually, due to the resentment of Jat voters, BJP wants to compensate it from the backward vote bank. The role of Jat voters is considered very important in 25-30 seats of Haryana. Due to the resentment of Jats and farmers, Dalit and backward voters have become very important for BJP.
On behalf of BJP, Anil Vij and Rao Inderjit Singh have also staked claim for the post of CM, but the top leadership of BJP including Home Minister Amit Shah has made it clear that in case BJP wins the elections, Naib Singh Saini will be the Chief Minister of the state. Will be. Political experts believe that BJP wants to strengthen its backward vote bank base through Naib Singh Saini. This is the reason why Naib Singh Saini is being given a lot of importance in the public meetings of PM Modi and other top leaders.
