With political parties gearing up for the Bihar assembly elections, scheduled for later this year, two constituencies — Dalits and youths — seem to have acquired greater salience. To reach out to the most marginalised Dalit communities, the political parties are taking three possible routes — aligning with Dalit-centric parties, appointing Dalit leaders to top organisational positions and holding public meetings with Dalit communities.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan has been trying to woo Pashupati Kumar Paras’s Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) since he left the NDA. Paras has significant influence on the Dusadh community, to which he belongs. The Congress celebrated the 130th birth anniversary of Dalit leader Jaglal Choudhary in February this year. Following this, it appointed Rajesh Kumar Ram, a young Dalit leader and sitting MLA, as the party’s new state president in March. Ram belongs to the Jatav community, which is the second largest Dalit community in Bihar, accounting for about 5 per cent of the state’s total population.
On the other hand, the NDA has got two Dalit-centric parties in its fold: LJP (Ram Vilas) led by Chirag Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s party Hindustani Awam Morcha. LJP has a strong presence among the Paswans/Dusadhs, the largest subgroup within the SC and accounting for 5.3 per cent of Bihar’s total population. Paswan is also reaching out to Dalit communities by holding a series of public meetings. Similarly, Manjhi has a strong influence over Musahar voters, constituting over 3 per cent of the state’s population.
Against this backdrop, Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) has also intensified efforts to connect with Dalit communities. Notably, he was the one who, in order to make a dent in the Dalit vote bank, had created a new category “Mahadalits”, bringing many scheduled castes under its umbrella in 2007. While this strategy benefited him in subsequent elections, there has been a dip in Dalit voters’ support for him in recent elections. For instance, the party had won as many as 11 of the 38 SC-reserved seats in 2015, but it could win only eight in 2020.
As part of its current Dalit outreach, the JD(U) organised “Bhim Sansad” in November-December last year. On April 13, on the eve of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, Kumar addressed a “Bhim Samvad” in Patna and urged party leaders to spread awareness about government schemes among the Scheduled Castes. He also announced the “Ambedkar Samagra Yojana” through which his government would reach out to 40 lakh Dalit families over the next 100 days to ensure they get the benefits of about a dozen welfare schemes.
Some notable government schemes for Dalits in Bihar include a financial aid of Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh for candidates clearing the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) prelims and Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) prelims respectively; appointment of Vikas Mitras who work as a link between Bihar Mahadalit Vikas Mission (BMVM) and the community; Rs 10 lakh (including an additional 50 per cent as a grant) to start a business; scholarships for each Dalit student studying in the 91 Ambedkar residential schools. On paper, these schemes are quite attractive and may resonate with members of Dalit communities.
Why are all the political parties vying for Dalit votes? First, it is due to the political demography of Bihar. Dalit communities constitute about a fifth of Bihar’s total population. There are 38 SC-reserved constituencies out of 243 assembly seats. Second, a large chunk of the Dalit population lives in unreserved constituencies where their number is electorally significant. Third, Dalit communities are far from homogeneous both in terms of socio-economic status and with respect to political preference.
So, roping in leaders from Dalit communities may help parties improve their vote share due to their influence on the respective communities. But it can’t assure them of a positive impact, as for Dalits, the sub-caste of the leader is just one of the many things that matter. Finally, political parties need swing votes, beyond their guaranteed constituencies, to win the elections. Thus, increased support from the different Dalit communities is likely to brighten their electoral prospect.
Rahul Gandhi’s recent invocation of the Constitution and Dalit rights, RJD’s focus beyond M-Y equation to embrace the new wave in social justice politics, Nitish’s effort to expand his base and the BJP’s careful forging of alliances with major Dalit parties, have the potential to make the electoral discourse Dalit-centric in Bihar.
The writer is Associate Professor, CSDS
