After Ambedkar, Ravidas, BJP moves on to Suheldev in UP

After Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Sant Ravidas, it is now Raja Suheldev, the great warrior remembered for the Battle of Bahraich, who is the BJP’s latest tool to win over dalits.

BJP president Amit Shah will visit Bahraich on Wednesday to unveil a statue of Raja Suheldev who belonged to the Rajbhar community. Mr Shah, thereafter, will address a farmers’ rally.

The BJP has been systematically idolising the dalit icon and making a direct dent in the BSP vote-bank.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Lucknow and he visited the Ambedkar Mahasabha office where he offered tributes to Dr Ambedkar’s ashes that are kept there.

On Monday, Mr Modi visited Varanasi on the Sant Ravidas Jayanti and offered prayers at his temple in Shir Govardhan.

The party is now aiming at Raja Suheldev who belonged to Bahraich and is the undisputed hero of the Rajbhar community.

The Rajbhar community, categorised as Most Backward Caste in Uttar Pradesh, wanted to be included in the Scheduled Castes list but the issue has been caught in a legal tangle and the Rajbhars blame the BSP and SP government for the same.

The controversy over these 17 caste groups, including Rajbhar, started unfolding in 2005 when the then Mulayam Singh government issued a government order saying that these 17 case groups would receive same entitlements as SCs.

The move was stayed by the Allahabad high court which said that inclusion in the SC list could only be done by the Centre.

When Ms Mayawati came to power in 2007, she asked the Centre to increase the SC reservation quota by another 8 per cent and then include these 17 caste groups. The matter, since then, has been pending.

According to sources, the BJP is now preparing to take up the issue and resolve it so that it can claim credit for the same. Mr Shah is expected to discuss the issue with local Rajbhar leaders, who are a dalit sub-caste, before the final announcement on the subject comes from Delhi.

“More than the upper castes, we are focusing on dalit sub-castes because these votes have ample numerical strength and tend to vote together. The BJP, if it wins dalit support, will remain invincible in Uttar Pradesh in the 2017 Assembly elections,” said a senior BJP leader.