The attack on CJI Gavai and politics on caste thereafter

With the combined Dalit and lower-caste vote estimated to be more than 55% of the Bihar electorate, the BJP and its allies have their work cut out

- AJOY BOSE

The controversy over the outrageous hurling of a shoe at Chief Justice BR Gavai, an Ambedkarite Dalit, inside the Supreme Court by a Hindu fanatic lawyer, could not have come at a more unfortunate time for the BJP. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi swiftly condemned the attack on the highest judicial authority, the incident has angered Dalit groups and given ammunition to the Opposition against the ruling party on the eve of the caste-polarised Bihar assembly elections.

Known earlier as a Hindu upper-caste party in the state, the BJP has in recent years successfully made crucial inroads into the substantial Dalit and lower-caste vote in Bihar by allying with their leaders and parties. Not surprisingly, party leaders fear that any dent in this vote, because of an adverse propaganda campaign by the Opposition targeting the BJP and its Hindutva ideology in the aftermath of the shocking assault on a Dalit Chief Justice by a Hindu extremist lawyer, may mar its prospects in a closely fought election.

The Congress is already on the offensive. Bihar party president Rajesh Ram, a Dalit, broke down in tears as he addressed a press conference in the state capital, Patna,

“This attack on the Supreme Court Chief Justice is an insult to millions of Dalits and the Constitution gifted to us by Babasaheb Ambedkar." he lamented. The prominent Dalit leader of the state also alleged that the lawyer and his fanatic supporters in the social media, who sought to denigrate Chief Justice Gavai, shared the same ideology as the ruling party and allied organisations.