New Delhi: The countdown for the Maharashtra Assembly elections has begun. Voting is to be held in the state on November 20, while the last date for filing nominations is October 29. There is still a deadlock between the ruling Mahayuti alliance, and the issue of seat sharing is so complicated that to resolve it, meetings of the Mahayuti alliance are being held from Maharashtra to Delhi. Recently a meeting of Mahayuti leaders was held at the Delhi residence of Home Minister Amit Shah. The BJP has announced a total of 121 candidates in the Mahayuti alliance, and the party has released 2 lists for this. Candidates were fielded on 99 seats in the first list and 22 seats in the second. While the BJP’s alliance partner, the Eknath Shinde faction’s Shiv Sena, has released only one list in which the names of 45 candidates have been announced. At the same time, the Ajit Pawar faction’s NCP has fielded a total of 49 candidates; the party has announced 38 names in the first list, 7 in the second, and 4 in the third list. However, there are still 73 seats on which candidates have not been announced.
Now parties are making efforts to woo voters towards them. However, when it comes to the Dalit voters of the state, Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are playing a different game. In the last Lok Sabha elections, the campaign of MVA revolved around the threat to the Constitution and reservation, which helped it gain the support of the Dalit community of the state. For this reason, MVA, which includes Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), won 30 out of 48 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. In comparison, the ruling Mahayuti, which includes BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, could win only 17 seats. It is said that the voters of the Dalit community went with the MVA, which won 51 of the 88 assembly constituencies where the Dalit population is more than 15 per cent.
The Dalit factor
After its not-so-good performance in the LS polls, the BJP changed its strategy in Haryana and focused on the Dalit votes. The Dalit voters played an important role in the recent elections in Haryana, where the BJP staged a comeback. Dalit voters dominate many seats in Maharashtra, and thus the BJP is also eyeing these voters. It may be noted that in Maharashtra there are 33 seats reserved for the Dalit community. The population of the Dalit community in the state is considered to be 12 to 13 per cent, out of which about 30 per cent are now Buddhists, while the rest are Matang, Mahar, Dhor, Kakaiya Shaiva, and Lingayat Dalits.
Dalit communities play a crucial role in Maharashtra’s politics, and according to the 2011 census, Scheduled Castes (SCs) make up about 12 per cent of the state’s population, comprising over 59 different castes. Contrary to popular perceptions of the Dalit community as a unified whole, it is in fact quite diverse. Among the various SC groups, followers of the Ambedkarite movement, particularly the Mahars, play a prominent role. Historically, the BJP has found support from smaller Dalit groups, such as the Matangs, reflecting the divergent political thinking or ideologies within the SCs. The OBC voters can prove to be the biggest game changer in the Maharashtra assembly elections. According to media reports, the total population of OBC voters in Maharashtra is 52 per cent. While the total backward castes in the state are 351, out of which 291 castes are included in the central OBC list.
Govt Wooing Dalits
Initiatives such as the Maharashtra government’s ‘Laarki Behan Yojana’, which provides a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 to 2.5 crore economically backward women, are aimed at benefiting several vulnerable communities, including the Matangs. However, the BJP’s openness to sub-classification within the Scheduled Castes (SCs) is an attempt to reach out to non-Ambedkarite Dalit groups. Sub-classification means quota within quota within SCs, to address inequities and ensure better distribution of benefits, such as reservation in education and employment, especially where Ambedkarite communities are far ahead in quota benefits.
