Political activities have intensified in the country regarding the assembly elections to be held in five states next year. To establish itself as the main option in this electoral contest, Congress has started working on a new and strategic social engineering. The party is making major preparations to bring its two most traditional and strongest pillars, Dalit and minority communities, on a common platform. For this, the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Minority departments of Congress have joined hands.
Congress believes that under the present system and the rule of the ruling party (Bharatiya Janata Party), both these communities have been marginalized the most. According to party leaders, while one section is facing harassment and discrimination in the name of caste, the other section is being targeted in the name of religion. Both these communities are being accused of depriving them of opportunities even in basic areas like employment and education.
This is why Congress wants to create not only political coordination but also an ideological bond between these two classes. This campaign will start with a big joint conference to be held in the capital Delhi. Not only party leaders will participate in this event, but enlightened citizens of the society, social workers, intellectuals and artists will also gather, so that a concrete ‘roadmap’ can be prepared to improve the economic and social condition of both the communities.
Grand conference in Delhi: Start of strategy
The official start of this big campaign is going to be held on June 6 with a grand joint conference to be held in the country’s capital Delhi. According to party leaders, not only prominent leaders and workers of both the departments (Dalit and Minority) will gather on this platform, but members of civil society, social workers, enlightened intellectuals and artists will also participate in it. The main objective of this conference is to brainstorm deeply on the basic problems of both the communities and prepare a concrete policy for their rights and economic improvement. Its road map will be ready on June 6.
Sources claim that, after discussing the roadmap with the top leadership, its conferences will be organized in all the states of the country where elections are going to be held, like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
Election mathematics and Rahul’s clear message
Deep electoral arithmetic is also hidden behind this entire exercise. Dalits and minority population together form a major part of about 35 to 40 percent in the electoral states. Congress strategists are confident that if this joint vote bank is completely harnessed, then the path to power will become very easy. In future, extremely backward class will be included with Dalit-Muslim, after that backward class will be made a part of it. Then in the end the poor upper castes will also be included in it.
UP-Punjab equation before 2029
After the weakening of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh, Dalit voters are looking for a strong alternative. Congress hopes that it can fill this void. Similarly, in Punjab also she will woo the Dalits through this.
Impact of ‘Save Constitution’ campaign
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the ‘Save Constitution’ campaign run by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi had received huge support from the Dalit community, the direct benefit of which was seen in the increase in the party’s seats in Uttar Pradesh and at the national level. Congress wants to maintain this momentum going forward also.
Even within the party, the stance of the leadership now seems to be very vocal. Rahul Gandhi has clearly said in the meetings with minority leaders that if injustice is done to Muslims or any other minority community, then the leaders should raise their issues directly and clearly instead of hiding behind broad words like ‘minority’.
Polarization vs Economic Challenges
Congress also assesses that the narrative of Hindu-Muslim polarization created by BJP and RSS will weaken in the times to come. The top leadership of the party believes that as economic problems like inflation and unemployment increase in the country, the attention of the general public will shift from the politics of hatred to the real fundamental issues. Underlining the limitations of regional parties, Congress is presenting itself as the only strong national alternative to BJP.
This new campaign of Congress is not just an electoral alliance, but a big political effort to get back its old support base by talking about social justice and rights. It remains to be seen how effective this social engineering, which starts from Delhi, proves to be on the ground of election states.
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