Ramdas Atharwal and Prakash Ambedkar.
There is a fight between two alliances in the Maharashtra assembly elections. There is a competition between the NDA led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (i.e. Mahayutthi) and the Alliance of India (Maha Vikas Aghadi) led by the Congress Party. However, Dalit parties were marginalized in both alliances. The Indian Union did not join hands with Prakash Ambedkar’s Bahujan Vikas Aghadi. Ramdas Athawale’s party RPI was definitely in line with the NDA but got only two seats in the shared seats. In this context, one thing is clear: Dalit-based political parties in Maharashtra appear to be on the political fringes.
Union Minister Ramdas Athawale has been part of the Modi government’s NDA for 12 years. Athawale’s RPI(A) has its own political base in Maharashtra. Therefore, they are demanding 8 to 10 seats in the parliamentary elections. In the NDA’s seat distribution, RPI(A) got only two seats, with the BJP getting the Kalina Assembly seat from its quota and the Shiv Sena of Sindh party from its quota won the Dharavi seat. Athawale is not happy with getting two seats but could not leave the BJP even if he wanted to.
BSP is fighting alone
The second Dalit face in Maharashtra politics is Prakash Ambedkar, a descendant of Constitution framer Bhimrao Ambedkar The Doctor’s family. Prakash Ambedkar was earlier ready to contest with the All India League, but his views could not be worked out in the seat deal. In this situation, Prakash-led party Bahujan Vikas Aghadi formed a third front to join the electoral fray. Similarly, the BSP, a third party in Dalit politics, is also trying its luck in the Maharashtra elections. Apart from this, the situation is similar for other Dalit parties.
The Dalit community accounts for about 12% of the population in Maharashtra, which is divided into Mahar castes and non-Mahar castes. There are approximately 60 different castes in Dalit society. The Mahar caste accounts for about 50% of Dalits. The remaining 50% castes include Kori Khatik, Matang, Bhed, Chamar, Dhor, Dom Aulakh and Gotraj. Among the followers of the Ambedkar movement, especially the Mahar community converted to Buddhism under the influence of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, fought against caste discrimination, and showed their determination to strive for social equality.
Why didn’t Prakash get a place in the league?
New Buddhists (Mahars) account for about 50% of the Dalit population. The core of his politics is social justice and empowerment, which has always been in opposition to parties like the BJP and the Shiv Sena. Politically, Ambedkar founded the Republican Party, which was dominated by Mahar caste leaders, but within a few years it split into many factions. Just like the Athawale Group, Ambedkar Group and Gaekwad Group of the Republican Party. There is no other way for these Dalit parties to save their existence other than becoming a cog in the Congress party. In this way, the Mahar caste remains entirely in the Congress party or a political party composed of the Mahar caste.
The Republican Party is too weak to win even municipal corporation seats, let alone seats in the Assembly and Lok Sabha. In such cases, Congress used to agree to give him two to four seats. She was only happy with them. Likewise, the BJP is also catering to them by giving them one or two seats. Prakash Ambedkar, who aspired to contest from 30 to 40 seats instead of one, failed to find a place in the Congress-led Indian Alliance. Ramdas Athawale wanted to contest from over a dozen seats in Mumbai, Western Maharashtra and Marathwada regions, but he got only two seats in the NDA.
Dalit voters play decisive role
In Maharashtra, 29 assembly seats are reserved for 12% Dalits. Vidarbha, Pune, Nagpur and Thane districts have the highest scheduled caste population. Apart from 29 reserved seats, there are about 59 assembly seats, of which the Dalit population is close to 20%. So, if we look at the 2019 results in the 88 Dalit-dominated parliamentary seats, the BJP and its ally Shiv Sena won 46 seats while the Congress-NCP alliance won 33 seats. This time, however, the political equation has completely changed, with Dalit voters playing a decisive role.
The Congress party eliminated the BJP-led National Development Alliance on issues of the Constitution and reserved speech. On the Indian Union, Congress side, Shiv Sena Party (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray and NCP led by Sharad Pawar won 30 out of 48 seats in the Lok Sabha elections . While Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP managed to win 17 seats. Concerns over possible changes to the constitution and abolition of reservations have united voters in the Dalit community, resulting in the Indian Union leading in 51 of the 88 Dalit-dominated parliamentary constituencies. The Congress is once again trying the same approach to win Dalit votes.
BJP’s strategy to win Dalit votes
The BJP is focusing on non-Mahal castes to win Dalit votes. This strategy explicitly targets the crabgrass community, which is closer to Hindu cultural practices than the Ambedkarites. Apart from this, the BJP also hopes to mobilize dalits such as Kori, Khatik, Bhed, Chamar, Dhor, Dom etc. Special caste. To this end, the BJP is in favor of classifying Dalit reservations to include non-Mahar castes.
The political basis of Ramdas Athawale’s RPI and Prakash Ambedkar’s Bahujan Vikas Aghadi was neo-Buddhism, the Maha caste. Therefore, they cannot play any special political games as they cannot gain the trust of other castes. The problems for Kanshi Ram’s Bahujan Samaj Party are more complicated. It is not just a party of Dalits, no, it is a party of Bahujans, i.e. Dalits, OBCs, tribals and minorities, at least in theory. It is not necessary that everyone agrees to be a Buddhist. Mayawati and the BSP seemed to be on a different path, resulting in the BSP being unable to build its own political base.
