How UP Congress is laying a roadmap to consolidate Dalit, OBC, minority votes

Party launches month-long awareness campaign set to conclude on September 11 to mark 25 years of SC-ST Act

Congress leaders said printed material on these issues in an easy-to-understand format would be distributed during the awareness campaign.

The Congress in Uttar Pradesh on Friday launched a month-long campaign on the issue of sub-classification of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), the Waqf Amendment Bill, and caste census. The party aims to strengthen its position among Dalit, Other Backward Class (OBC), and Muslim voters. The party is scheduled to conclude the campaign on September 11 to mark 25 years since Parliament passed the SC and ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989, and highlight the efforts the Congress has made to prevent the atrocities against SCs and STs.

A senior Congress leader said, “The steps being taken by the Central government are proof of what we have been raising during the Lok Sabha election campaign. That once in power, basic Constitutional rights will be challenged. Thus, we will reach out to the masses to create awareness about a caste census, the Waqf Amendment Bill, and even the sub-classification of SC-ST quotas. These communities have shown their support for us in Lok Sabha elections and thus it is our responsibility to raise their issues as well.”

During the one-month programme, party leaders have been told to mobilise at the village level, distribute pamphlets, and hold discussions with the respective communities. The party’s OBC, minority, and fishermen wings will conduct the campaigns at the district level while a signature campaign will be held to garner support for a caste census. The party has also instructed its office-bearers in the state to try to connect with intellectuals and people of prominence in the communities such as doctors, teachers, and other professionals.

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“It will be a mass awareness campaign that will end on September 11 to mark the anniversary of the Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989, initiated during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure as Prime Minister. We will also create awareness about the Waqf Amendment Bill, which will turn the government into a property dealer of Waqf land; sub-classification of SC-ST quotas, which will defy its very purpose, demand caste census and raise our voice against the collegium system of appointment of judges,” said Congress’s Minority Department chief in the state, Shahnawaz Alam.

On the Waqf Bil, Alam said, “It is equally important to understand the Waqf Amendment Bill and explain it to common masses. After railways, Waqf has maximum possession of land, which was donated by Muslims for the betterment of the community. Now, the government wants to become the dealers of these properties.”

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Saying that the Constitution banned untouchability and provided reservation for the upward mobility of SCs and STs and challenge social discrimination against them, Alam said that the “creamy layer” concept cannot be applied to SC-ST quotas. “Most significant is that even the SC-ST Act is not being implemented properly and in most cases cases are being settled at the local level. It is for this reason that September 11 has been chosen as the date to conclude the campaign so that we can highlight how cases under the SC-ST Act are being discouraged,” he added.

Congress leaders said printed material on these issues in an easy-to-understand format would be distributed during the awareness campaign. After this, the party will host chaupals and nukkad (street corner) meetings on these issues in villages, districts and at the state level.

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The Congress’s outreach to Dalits and OBCs comes at a time when a sizable chunk of these communities’ support for the BJP has shifted towards the Opposition INDIA alliance. The BJP’s initial assessment after the Lok Sabha elections had indicated that an estimated 6% of the BSP’s core Jatav votes shifted to the SP and the Congress following their “Save the Constitution” campaign that warned of the threat that the BJP would pose to the Constitution and reservation if it returned to power with a massive mandate. While the BJP had won 14 of the 17 SC-reserved Lok Sabha seats in UP in 2019, this time its tally fell to eight. The SP won seven of the seven constituencies while one each was won by the Congress and the Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram).

The parliamentary election results also showed that OBC sub-castes such as the Nishads, Kurmi (Patels, Gangwars, Niranjans, Vermas), Rajbhars, Prajapatis, Kumhars, Lonias, Sainthwars, Naus, and Jats who dominate in more than 40 Lok Sabha seats across the state, and were earlier counted among the NDA supporters, flipped and backed the INDIA alliance. This shift in UP’s political topography is what the Congress is looking to utilise as it looks to revive its organisation across the state.