With the BJP in Uttar Pradesh stepping up its outreach to Dalits communities ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Monday announced that the government will install protective “chattra (umbrellas)” over all statues of Dr B R Ambedkar across the state.
Beyond the symbolic chattras, he also said the government will take up construction of boundary walls and beautification of parks where Ambedkar statues are installed. Addressing workers, he framed it as a collective responsibility: “It is our responsibility to honour the architect of the Constitution.”
The announcement is part of a broader political push by the ruling party to underline its emphasis on icons associated with Dalit assertion and social justice as it rolls out a series of programmes starting from April 6 to Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14. Party leaders said the initiatives are aimed at reinforcing the BJP’s narrative of respecting “mahapurush” across communities.
To be sure, parties across the political spectrum are in a race to woo Dalit voters amid the downward slide in the Bahujan Samaj Party’s electoral fortunes over the years.
The Chandrashekhar Azad-led Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) has already staked claim to the legacy of Mayawati’s mentor and BSP founder Kanshi Ram, while parties such as Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), the Republican Party of India (Athawale), and the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) are also looking to throw their hats into the ring with an eye on the Dalit vote bank.
The Congress and Samajwadi Party had also invoked Kanshi Ram on his birth anniversary last month. The Congress even shifted focus to its own Dalit icon, former Deputy Prime Minister Jagjivan Ram, last week to woo the community.
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Other announcements
The Chief Minister said similar efforts would also be undertaken at sites linked to other icons: “Jahan kahin Ravidas ki pratima hongi, wahan bhi sundarikaran hoga, aur Valmiki ji ki pratimaon ke sthal par bhi yahi karya kiya jayega. (Beautification work will also be carried out at sites where statues of Sant Ravidas and Maharishi Valmiki are located).”
The Chief Minister also called for a state-wide cleanliness drive on April 13 at sites associated with Ambedkar, followed by “pushpanjali” programmes on April 14. “Dirt leads to disease, and political pollution can make a nation unwell,” he said.
At the organisational level, the BJP has planned booth-level mobilisation, rallies, and door-to-door campaigns, asking workers to carry party literature and raise slogans invoking figures such as Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
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“Jitna bada sangathan hoga, utni badi chunautiyan bhi hongi… BJP bina ruke, bina jhuke, aage badh rahi hai (The bigger the organisation, the greater the challenges… the BJP continues to move forward without stopping or bowing),” Adityanath said.
Detailing the party’s foundation day programmes, Adityanath said a three-day abhiyan would be organised across the state, with workers at the mahanagar, mandal and booth levels taking out foot marches and rallies. “Workers should reach out to people morning and evening to spread the party’s message,” he said.
He asked the cadre to raise slogans such as “BJP zindabad”, “Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, Atal Bihari Vajpayee amar rahen” and “Narendra Modi zindabad” during these marches, while ensuring party literature is distributed door-to-door as part of the outreach.
