Polarisation game

The dalit voter may hold the key to the poll outcome in Haryana

- SONI MISHRA

AMID THE INTENSE discussion about how the Jat anger would influence the Haryana assembly polls, it seems the dalit voter is quietly emerging as the X factor.

After Punjab, Haryana has the highest proportion of dalits in the population. The scheduled castes make around 20 per cent of the state’s total population of 2.53 crore, as per the 2011 census. Of 90 Vidhan Sabha seats in the state, 17 are reserved for the scheduled castes. Dalits can make a difference in about 50 seats where their share in the population is between 15 and 20 per cent.

The importance of scheduled castes as a constituency that can make or break electoral fortunes is not lost on the political parties. In fact, the dalit voter is an important element in the electoral strategy of all the major parties in the fray.

Dalits are believed to have played a major role in the Congress winning five seats in Haryana in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year. The party had drawn a blank in the 2019 elections. The Congress won both the seats reserved for the scheduled castes—Ambala and Sirsa.

It is said that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘400 paar’ slogan was interpreted by the scheduled castes as an indication of the party’s alleged plans to alter the framework of reservations. This might have resulted in the dalits turning away from the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.