Multi-state outreach seeks to deepen party connections among Dalit communities before key elections.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) plans to strengthen its outreach among Dalit voters in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand through the Sant Ravidas Yatra, which was launched across eight states. The fourth phase of the yatra is also set to begin soon. The BJP launched the Sant Ravidas Yatra from Varanasi on July 29, the birth anniversary of Sant Ravidas, which coincided with Guru Purnima. The yatra has so far passed through states including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. A key feature of the yatra is that it has received support not only from Dalit communities but also from people belonging to other sections of society. The Sant Ravidas Yatra will have a total of five phases.
The first phase, the Kalash Vandan Abhiyan, was completed from July 29 to August 31 and received a strong response. The second phase was the Sant Sampark Abhiyan, under which the BJP connected around 80,000 saints, sadhus and maths across the country with the yatra. The third phase is the Samrasta Yatra, scheduled from October 5 to November 5. It will begin from Jalandhar in Punjab. The yatra is being viewed as being directly linked to the Punjab elections. The fourth phase will be the Chhatrawas Sampark Abhiyan, scheduled from November 26 to January 15. To prepare the plan for this phase, the yatra’s coordinator and BJP national vicepresident Lalsingh Arya has convened a meeting in Delhi on October 9. The fifth and final phase of the yatra will continue until February 20.
Religious and cultural programmes will be organised during this period, with the yatra concluding in Varanasi on February 20. There is a possibility that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself may attend the concluding ceremony in Varanasi. Varanasi is also his parliamentary constituency. The objective of the Sant Ravidas Yatra was to connect Dalits with the BJP. Punjab has a 33 per cent Dalit population, the highest in the country, while Dalits account for around 22 per cent of the population in Uttar Pradesh. A large section of these votes has traditionally gone to Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The BJP is focusing on this Dalit vote. Sources said the BSP has continued to receive 12 to 14 per cent of the Dalit vote in Uttar Pradesh even in its weakest electoral phases. According to sources, the BJP initially planned the Sant Ravidas Yatra with Dalit voters in Punjab in mind. Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were later included in the yatra’s programme.
By: Sanjay Sharma
Courtesy : TSG
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