Why Punjab is out wooing Dalit voters already
Punjab has the highest percentage of Dalits in the country as they comprise more than 31 per cent of the population and so are an important vote bank in the state.
Thus, it comes as no surprise that political parties, keeping in mind the 2017 state polls, have already started wooing Dalits in the state. As observers point out, these voters will hold the key to replacing or repeating a government.
The BJP has already started sending out feelers to this community. The saffron party is especially keen to do so as its ally in Punjab - the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is on the back foot as far as the Dalit vote is concerned. The SAD has been criticised for its perceived inaction on the issue of atrocities on Dalits in Punjab, including the recent bus molestation case. This, and other factors, have forced the BJP to go it alone in the Assembly polls, and if it is to win, the Dalit vote is needed.
The party recently organised the national executive committee meeting of its Scheduled Caste Wing (SC Morcha) in Jalandhar on May 21. The two-day event was organised at a venue known as the hub of state's Dalit politics. Union minister of urban development M Venkaiah Naidu, BJP SC Morcha president Dushyant Gautam and a host of Dalit leaders were present at the event.
The issue of parting ways with the SAD and contesting the elections independently had been raised by the state's BJP leaders during party president Amit Shah's visit to Amritsar on May 2. Shah had asked BJP workers to win over rural voters if they were really keen on contesting elections independently.
The BJP's SC Morcha president has already started furthering the party's agenda. Gautam has attacked the Akali Dal for diverting funds, which were released for various Dalit welfare schemes. He added that the Union government will soon develop a mechanism to stop the diversion of funds from the SC welfare schemes by the states.
"There are reports of diversion of funds from SC welfare schemes in Punjab. We have received similar reports from various states and will make all-out efforts to stop this," Gautam said. It's not just the BJP. Sources said that the opposition Congress is also gearing up to woo Dalit voters in the state. While the BJP has remained silent on various cases of atrocities on Dalits in Punjab, the Congress has capitalised heavily on the recent incidents, including the Moga bus molestation case. The Punjab Congress unit has announced a separate poll manifesto for Punjabi Dalits, which will be announced during the next six months.
This attention marks a turning point for Dalits in Punjab. Despite being a huge vote bank, Dalits have failed to carve out a niche for themselves in the political arena, as most of the chief ministers, including Parkash Singh Badal and Captain Amarinder Singh, are Jats. As a result, their problems have not been addressed so far.
The main issue is that of land. Currently, Dalits own only two point three per cent of land in Punjab, with the result that most of them are landless. They either work as agricultural labour or cultivate common land in their villages.
Dalits are also helped by the fact that some of them are rising up the ladder to become politicians.
"We want a share in agricultural land and we want jobs. Dalit students are being denied scholarships. Moreover, funds that are meant for their welfare are being diverted," the state BSP president Avtar Singh Karimpuri alleged.
Such focus on the Dalits will ensure that this community should benefit whichever party scripts victory in 2017. Already, Punjab's Dalits are emerging as economically and socially stronger than their counterparts in neighbouring states. This change in lifestyle was brought about by money sent back by Punjabi Dalits working in West Asia and success stories have now emerged. Minister of state for social justice and empowerment Vijay Sampla is one example and popular Punjabi singer Hans Raj Hans is another. Besides being a Dalit, Hans Raj Hans is also a champion of Dalit causes.