‘Can’t restrict Kanshi Ram to one party’: With BSP founder at centre, UP Cong plans Dalit outreach

The programme includes a “Dalit Adhikar Patra” form, which will be distributed to an estimated two lakh Scheduled Caste members, asking them to list their top five demands; identifying and specifically reaching out to 1 lakh “influential” Dalits in every Assembly segment; holding 10 “night chaupals” in these areas with SC communities to discuss their issues; organising 18 “divisional padyatras”; and forming 80 core groups in each Lok Sabha seat – all with the purpose of propagating Kanshi Ram’s beliefs.

The Dalit Gaurav Samvad will conclude on November 26, celebrated as Constitution Day, with a big convention on the rights of Dalits.

Incidentally, this celebration of Kanshi Ram comes at a time when BSP chief Mayawati has declared equidistance from the INDIA coalition and the NDA for the coming polls. The anti-BJP parties, however, continue to hope that she will eventually come to their side.

Earlier this year, during the campaign for the Karnataka Assembly elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had come out with the phrase “Jitni aabadi, utna haq”, quite close to the famous slogan given by Kanshi Ram to rally the Dalits – “Jiski jitni sankhya bhari, uski utni hissedari”.

Ahead of the launch, the Congress is holding a meeting of its senior state Dalit leaders on Thursday, where it will share details of the programme.

Uttar Pradesh Congress organisation secretary Anil Yadav said: “Kanshi Ram was the leader of a very big Bahujan movement. He is a icon bigger than any one particular party. Our leader Rahul Gandhi has often talked about his ideology… We will discuss Kanshi Ram’s ideology, the issues of Dalits and their rights.”

Party leaders said among “influential Dalits” they are hoping to reach out to are doctors, engineers, gram pradhans, professionals, intellectuals and teachers, to get an idea of the issues affecting the community. The core groups formed on the basis of these interactions would guide the Congress candidates in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Congress leaders said.

While Dalits were once a core vote bank of the Congress, along with Brahmins – thus giving the party a reach across two ends of the caste spectrum – the SC vote particularly in Uttar Pradesh has slipped out of its hands. While the BSP remains the preeminent party of the Dalits in the state, the BJP has managed to make a dent within the community, amidst the rise of Narendra Modi and the collapse of the BSP under Mayawati.

Earlier this year, the Samajwadi Party, whose key Yadav vote bank is considered a rival of the Dalits in the state, marked Kanshi Ram’s birth anniversary on March 15 at the party headquarters.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had also unveiled a statue of the BSP founder in Rae Bareli.