BJP puts more Dalit candidates in Delhi Assembly fray than Congress, AAP

The BJP, which has been working overtime to woo Dalits following its underwhelming performance in the Lok Sabha polls, has fielded two Dalit candidates from non-reserved seats — both Muslim-majority constituencies and located in the heart of Old Delhi — on the basis of their “performance and popularity”.

The Congress, which has made “saving the Constitution” its key electoral narrative in successive polls, has fielded one Dalit candidate from a non-SC seat.

The AAP is the only key party that has fielded Dalit candidates from only reserved seats. Notably, a few weeks ago, the party released an AI-generated video of Ambedkar blessing AAP national convenor and former CM Arvind Kejriwal.

Delhi has 12 seats reserved for the SC community. But while the BJP has fielded 14 Dalit candidates, the Congress has fielded 13. Generally, most major parties field Dalit candidates only from reserved constituencies.

The Dalit candidates given ticket by the BJP from general seats are Deepti Indora from Matia Mahal and Kamal Bagri from Ballimaran. From the Congress, Aruna Kumari is contesting from Narela, a non-reserved seat.

Indora was fileded by BJP as a probable in the 2022 MCD elections from the Delhi Gate ward, which falls under the Matia Mahal constituency but had lost to AAP’s Kiran Bala by a little over 1700 votes. Bagri, on the other hand, is a sitting councillor from Ram Nagar ward — part of Ballimaran — which he had won with a margin of more than 2,300 votes.

The development underlines BJP’s recognition of its inability to keep its Dalit support intact in the Lok Sabha polls despite having worked hard over the years to appropriate Ambedkar.

The SP-Congress combine had stunned the BJP in Lok Sabha polls, winning 43 seats in Uttar Pradesh against the NDA’s 36. Compared to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP had lost 30 seats it had in the state. This loss led to the BJP falling short of the majority in the Lok Sabha.

Speaking to The Indian Express, leaders across party lines sought to attribute their respective ticket distribution-related decisions on reserved constituencies to “dynamic changes” in the demographic profile of the city and the popularity of the candidates that they had chosen to field irrespective of whether or not they belonged to the SC category.

“Both Deeptiji and Kamalji are popular in the constituencies from where they have been fielded owing to their experience as councillors and delivering on local development projects. Their effectiveness as officials elected to a public office is more significant than their caste,” a senior BJP leader said.

The AAP’s sole criteria, according to an insider, was the same – the popularity of the candidate. “Irrespective of which party they belonged to earlier or their caste, we have given tickets to deserving candidates based on winnability,” the insider said.

The Congress said its decision was also guided by “experience and popularity over everything else”. “Arunaji is a strong candidate on the seat (Narela). She has represented it as a councillor some years ago and is seen as someone who can deliver development,” a senior Congress leader said.

One of the key reasons for this was deft social engineering by the SP. It fielded two Dalit candidates from general seats in Meerut and Ayodhya in the Lok Sabha polls. It even ended up winning the Ayodhya seat much to the embarrassment of the BJP, which had gone into polls riding on the euphoria over inauguration of Ram Temple in January that year.

In the backdrop of the narrative that the NDA would change the Constitution if it crossed the 400-mark and the dwindling popularity of Mayawati-led BSP, this move sent a message to Dalits that the SP was ready to give representational space to Dalits beyond the constitutional mandate. Dalits are said to have voted for the SP in significant measure, in turn, hurting the BJP.

The national political discourse since has revolved around the Constitution with the Congress and the BJP sparring over who has done more damage to it.

The BJP-Congress move also comes at a time when Dalit parties such as the BSP and the Chandrashekhar-led ASP (KR) are putting in considerable political energy in Delhi polls. While the BSP is contesting on all seats, ASP (KR) has declared candidates for 16 seats that fall on the UP-Delhi border. ASP (KR) has even promised that if it emerges as a kingmaker, it will ensure Constitution is taught in all Delhi schools.