BJP’s ‘Harmony Mission’ in Uttarakhand, using Saint Ravidas as a vehicle, new strategy for the 2027 Assembly elections, politics intensifies, report by Dheeraj Sajwan
Dehradun: Ahead of the 2027 Uttarakhand Assembly elections, the BJP has decided to embark on its most significant social and political mission. To expand its reach among the Dalit vote bank in Uttarakhand, the BJP has launched a “Harmony Resolution Campaign” centered on the 650th birth anniversary of Saint Ravidas. The party aims to further strengthen its hold on the state’s approximately 17% Dalit vote bank. To achieve this, the Samrasata Sankalp Abhiyan will be launched in Uttarakhand, along with the entire country, in February next year, centering on the 650th birth anniversary of Saint Ravidas.
The BJP is describing this campaign as a program of social harmony and cultural awakening. However, the opposition is calling it an electoral strategy to garner Dalit votes. According to political analysts, this campaign is not merely a religious or social event, but also a major political exercise to shift social equations in its favor ahead of the 2027 elections.
107 Ravidas temples will be the focus of the campaign, with the BJP reaching the booth level: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently flagged off the Sant Ravidas Express from Jalandhar. Following this, the BJP is now launching a national-level “Samrasata Sankalp Abhiyan” leading up to the 650th birth anniversary of Sant Ravidas. The campaign will begin with the lighting of lamps on Guru Parva on July 29th, and various programs will be organized across the country until February 20, 2027.
Crucially, election-bound states, including Uttarakhand, have been given special focus. 107 temples dedicated to Sant Ravidas in the state have been designated as the focus of the campaign. From Seer Govardhanpur in Varanasi, urns containing sacred soil from the birthplace of Sant Ravidas will be delivered to several states, including Uttarakhand. Following this, Kalash Yatras, social dialogues, seminars, and booth-level programs will be organized. The party’s objective is to spread the message of social harmony among the Dalit community while also strengthening its organizational base. BJP state spokesperson Mathura Dutt Joshi said,
Congress attacks, saying, “The campaign is not about harmony, it’s an election stunt.” Congress has reacted sharply to the BJP’s campaign. Congress state spokesperson Pratima Singh called it an election stunt to influence the Dalit community. She said, “How can a party that has been accused of ignoring the ideas of Constitution maker Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and weakening the spirit of the Constitution, talk about harmony?” Congress state spokesperson Pratima Singh said, “Large leaders like Lalu and Mulayam are the products of Lohia’s non-Congressism: Political analysts believe that the social and political structure of Uttarakhand is quite different from that of states like Uttar Pradesh. The Dalit community here has its own social history, local leadership, and distinct political behavior.” Senior political analyst Ravindra Nath Kaushik explains that,
Furthermore, senior political analyst Ravindra Nath Kaushik further adds that,
Caste equations are nothing new in Indian politics: Ravindra Nath Kaushik explains that caste equations are nothing new in Indian politics. Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia’s non-Congressism movement gave a new direction to backward class politics, which later led to the emergence of leaders like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav.
He says that the BJP has also been conveying political messages from time to time through social representation. The recent appointment of Babita Sahotra to the Child Welfare Committee can also be considered part of this broader social strategy. According to him, the purpose of starting the campaign now is to ensure that this message continues to resonate with the society until the elections.
Haridwar and Terai are the most focused areas, with the Bhim Army and BSP also a challenge: Senior journalist Bhagirath Sharma believes that the BJP’s entire strategy in Uttarakhand has been designed with Haridwar and the Terai region in mind. According to him, the BJP did not achieve the expected success in the Haridwar district in the last assembly elections.
In the 2022 elections, out of the 11 assembly seats in the district, the BJP was able to win only three: Haridwar, Roorkee, and BHEL Ranipur. The remaining seats were won by Congress, BSP, and independent candidates. Dalit voters played a decisive role in most of these areas. Senior journalist Bhagirath Sharma says,
Dalit voters are in a position to influence election results in many assembly seats: According to Bhagirath Sharma, Dalit voters are in a position to influence election results not only in Haridwar, but also in several assembly seats in the Pachhadun region of Dehradun, Doiwala, Rishikesh, Udham Singh Nagar, and Nainital districts. This is why the party is already developing a network of social dialogue down to the booth level.
Political experts believe that an important aspect of Uttarakhand politics is that the Dalit community has been deeply connected not only to national symbols but also to its local social leaders. Devbhoomi has given birth to numerous Dalit leaders and social reformers like Jayanand Bharti, Hari Prasad Tamta, and Khushi Ram Arya, whose social acceptance remains intact in many areas.
In such a situation, the biggest question will be whether the national-level harmony campaign in the name of Saint Ravidas will be able to influence Uttarakhand’s local social symbols, or will the state’s politics continue to revolve around local social identities. However, it is certain that political parties’ activism and social campaigns aimed at the Dalit vote bank will intensify in the coming months ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.
The Dalit community can play a decisive role in Uttarakhand’s electoral politics: While the BJP is striving for social expansion through harmony, the Congress, BSP, and Bhim Army are facing the challenge of maintaining this same social base in their own ways. In such a situation, the Dalit community may once again play a decisive role in Uttarakhand’s electoral politics.
Courtesy: Hindi News