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.
この記事は THE WEEK India の October 13, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は THE WEEK India の October 13, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Pressure Points
Author and MP Shashi Tharoor and motivational speaker Gaur Gopal Das on how to find healing and meaning in today's world
War Over Wounded Earth
For the BJP andthe Congress, the ravaged farmlands of Vidarbha represent a cxitieal battleground in their larger struggle to win Maharashtra
Say no to continual elections
Following the recommendations of a high-level committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind to streamline the widely scattered schedule of national, state and local elections, the Union cabinet has reportedly approved two constitutional amendment bills for likely introduction in Parliament. Predictably, the return of the ‘one nation, one election’ issue to news has set off a flurry of objections by several opposition leaders.
Fabulously, fashionably funny
The third season of the Karan Johar-produced Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives dropped on Netflix, but articles criticising the show appear in some news site or the other almost daily. If it is so bad, why keep writing about it? And if it is so bad, why would the superpowers at Netflix, who are harder to meet than the prime minister, commission the show season after season?
All in the family
The Chitaras have been passing down the secret art of Mata Ni Pachedi through generations for more than 400 years now
Raise a toast to Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan is a New Year baby. At 45, she is aglow in the most beautiful way, having won the hearts and admiration of countless fans across the world, who watched the supremely talented actor take a public tumble on stage at a high-profile promotional event recently, sharing the platform with no less a dancer than the eternally graceful Madhuri Dixit.
Death no bar
Being alive is not a legal requirement to be elected president of the United States
The Lotus POTUS
You should visit us one of these days— there is so much excitement in our USA! No, I don’t mean the famous USA—the Ulhasnagar Sindhi Association of Mumbai.
RAY OF HOPE
Actor and cancer survivor Lisa Ray talks to oncologist Dr Jame Abraham about inner strength and her surrogacy journey
LEVERAGE AI TO ENHANCE WORK
AT THE WEEK Health Summit, Siddharth Bagga, head (retail, CPG and health care), Google Cloud, elaborated on the significant work that Google has been doing in health care through artificial intelligence (AI).