Chasing Dalit vote without addressing the social divide

At the 15th Convention of the Uttar Pradesh Scheduled Caste Federation held at the Ramlila ground in Agra on March 18, 1956, BR Ambedkar shared the reasoning behind his assertion that the Scheduled Castes (SC) were not Hindus. He said, 'If we had been Hindus, then we would not have been untouchables. Instead, we would have been pujaris (priests) in the temples.' Ambedkar's words continue to echo, given that untouchability, on a much-diminished scale though, remains a social reality seven decades after it was abolished and its practice in any form declared a punishable offence. Ironically, eradicating untouchability or social isolation of Dalits is no longer a major agenda of any political party though the scheduled castes are a much-wooed vote bloc.
In March this year, Agra, where Ambedkar had installed a statue of Buddha (his ashes are kept near the statue), saw caste tensions escalate after the Rajasthan-based Karni Sena ransacked the house of Samajwadi Party MP and a Dalit, Ramji Lal Suman over his unwarranted remarks about a mediaeval-era Rajput ruler, Rana Sanga. Since then, reports of Dalit wedding processions in UP, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh being attacked or stopped in areas dominated by the upper castes have become frequent.
The contradiction between Dalits being wooed in the electoral battlefield and rejected in the social space is not new. Dalits first emerged as a political constituency in northern India in the 1980s. The 1990s saw growing Dalit assertiveness under the leadership of the Bahujan Samaj Party, which even formed the government in Lucknow twice. At the same time, renting a house in UP on a non-Dalit street was a challenge for Dalits. In the mid-1990s, a Banaras Hindu University (BHU) professor had to hide his caste from the landlady to rent her premises in Varanasi. A Dalit intellectual, who had returned from the US to be with his aging parents, had to run from pillar to post to get decent accommodation in New Delhi.
The scenario has not changed much. In 2025, a businessman in Agra failed to get a decent house, while a landlord in Prayagraj returned the advance payment after knowing the caste of the tenant. Ashok Bharti, chairman of National Confederation of Dalit and Adivasi Organisations, says, 'Being a Dalit in India means a life of challenges. Wherever, whichever direction Dalits go, caste is the monster that crosses their path. They can't buy or rent a house in a colony dominated by upper castes, Dalit children in schools can't get water or mid-day meals. In colleges, they are humiliated for accessing reservations and, in employment, their caste reaches before they join. However, the situation is improving. Dalit assertion is compelling and with the support of many progressive savarnas, they can now be seen in all places.'
Untouchability infuriates Dalits, of course, but does it influence their political choices? The issue is absent in the poll agenda of even Dalit parties such as BSP, RPI, and Dalit Panthers even though they have been advocating social empowerment via political empowerment. But all political parties are pursuing the Dalit voter: Since the political preferences of major castes and communities are known, the scramble is for non-aligned Dalit voters. The success of the PDA (pichra or backward, Dalit, and alpsankhyak or minority) formula of the Samajwadi Party in the 2024 general election has intensified the wooing. This has alarmed the Sangh Parivar which has been struggling to unite the Hindu population (80% of India's population) under the Hindutva banner.
It is in this context that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat recently gave a call for social harmony — Bhagwat had been on a month-long tour of UP in April 2025. He reiterated the message in an RSS resolution — one temple, one well, and one cremation ground for all in villages to end untouchability. The 2017 resolution also noted that words and wishful thinking would not be enough. Pravin Togadia, then international working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), had asked 'every non-Dalit Hindu to befriend at least one Dalit family.'
But these statements have survived mostly as gestures. As RSS cadres and BJP functionaries fan out to the rural areas to explain their commitment to the constitutional rights of Dalits, the latter reiterate Ambedkar's words: 'If RSS really wants to abolish untouchability, they should appoint Dalit pujaris (priests) in temples and start inter-caste marriages (called roti-beti ka rishta in common parlance).'
That said, there is a churn within the Dalit political community. Dalits worship Ambedkar and get protective about the Constitution, but the Dalit vote is neither a consolidated bloc nor is it the monopoly of any one party. With all political parties promising them the moon, the Dalit vote bloc has disintegrated. Welfare schemes of the Union government have attracted many to the BJP. Ambedkar had said Dalits don't worship Hindu idols, but some Dalit sub-castes are making a beeline for Ayodhya and Kashi. Jatavs, the largest chunk among the Dalits, are, however, embracing Buddhism.
In this melee, younger Dalits are weighing their political options. They are restless, aggressive, and aware of their rights. On May 25, Dalits of a village in UP's Etah district sent a clear message to the authorities by refusing to allow a shobha yatra to pass through their village in retaliation to the district administration's alleged discriminatory act of not granting them permission for their procession on Ambedkar Jayanti in April.
The message is clear: Do not take us for granted. It is this fault line the BJP will need to address if it wants to win over Dalits and defuse caste tensions in the states under the party.
The views expressed are personal.

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