Why did these Dalit leaders leave AAP? New challenge for Kejriwal’s party in Delhi

arun Posted On September 7, 2024

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Former Delhi government minister and Aam Aadmi Party MLA Rajendra Pal Gautam has joined hands with Congress. Gautam has accused AAP of discrimination against Dalits and minorities. This incident has happened before Haryana assembly elections, due to which AAP may have to face a new challenge.

Edited by Anil Kumar

Former Delhi government minister, AAP MLA Rajendra Pal Gautam joined Congress
Second big Dalit leader to leave AAP after Raj Kumar Anand
Kejriwal’s party accused of discrimination against Dalits, minorities

New Delhi: After the Lok Sabha elections, talks are on between Aam Aadmi Party and Congress for an alliance for the assembly elections in Haryana. Both the parties have started preparations for the assembly elections in Delhi. Kejriwal’s party has faced a new challenge amid this friendship between AAP and Congress. Former Delhi government minister and Aam Aadmi Party MLA Rajendra Pal Gautam has joined hands with Congress. Dalit leader leaving the party before the assembly elections can create problems for AAP.

Allegations of discrimination against Dalits, minorities

The special thing is that after leaving the party, Rajendra Pal Gautam alleged that Dalits and minorities are being discriminated against in the Aam Aadmi Party. Gautam was an MLA from Seemapuri seat in Delhi. Seemapuri is a reserved assembly seat in Delhi. Gautam, who comes from the Dalit community, said in his last letter that AAP is not giving special representation to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC) and minorities. Gautam joined AAP in November 2014. After this he became a minister in the Kejriwal government and took charge of various departments including Social Welfare. Gautam had to resign from the post of Social Welfare Minister in October 2022 after a political controversy arose over his alleged remarks about Hindu deities.

The party supports upper caste MLAs or ministers when they face any allegations but it immediately leaves a Muslim or Dalit even if the allegations are false. In a way, Muslims and Dalits have been internally ‘blacklisted’ from the party and the change in the party’s behavior is painful.

Are Dalit leaders getting disillusioned?

Rajendra Pal Gautam is not the first Dalit leader to leave Aam Aadmi Party. Earlier, Raj Kumar Anand, who replaced him in the Delhi Council of Ministers, had joined BJP. Before joining BJP, Anand had contested the Lok Sabha elections on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket. However, he had to face defeat. Now only two prominent Dalit leaders are left in Aam Aadmi Party. One of them is Mangolpuri MLA Rakhi Birla. Rakhi is also the Deputy Speaker of Delhi Assembly. The other leader is Kondli MLA Kuldeep Kumar. Kuldeep had contested the Lok Sabha elections from East Delhi parliamentary constituency but was unsuccessful.

How big a challenge is it for Kejriwal?

The exit of a prominent Dalit leader Gautam from the party is an indication that Aam Aadmi Party may face problems in terms of community. Gautam has raised many serious questions on the party leadership before leaving the party. In his resignation letter, Gautam has also criticized the party for appearing ‘very weak and helpless’ in raising issues like caste-based census, increasing the reservation limit beyond 50 percent, ensuring participation of Bahujan Samaj on the basis of population and protecting secularism. Now Kejriwal faces the challenge of proving these allegations wrong.

On the other hand, Gautam’s exit from AAP and almost immediate joining of Congress has come at a time when both the parties are working on a seat sharing agreement in Haryana. Gautam’s joining Congress may also have an impact on a similar agreement in Delhi. According to senior Congress leaders, Gautam’s entry was going on ‘for several days’ along with the AAP-Congress alliance talks.

What is Congress saying?

According to media reports, a senior Congress leader said that Gautam’s joining the party is a sign of the party’s political revival in the capital after being marginalized for more than a decade. Along with this, it is also a sign of emphasis on politics in favor of backward classes. The politics of backward classes has helped revive the position of Congress in the recent Lok Sabha elections. At the same time, Congress General Secretary Venugopal says that Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra have given a new direction to the country. Now the country is also accepting it with full force. Gautam has decided to join Congress after being attracted by the programs of Congress under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.