Political developments are never-ending in the country’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, but some gain the top spot. The recent tripartite meeting between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the UP government was one such instance.
The meeting, at a crucial time when UP is gearing up for the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls, looked at expanding the party’s base among the Dalit-dominated pockets and its reach among non-Hindus to mobilise the youths.
VOTER BASE IN DALIT-DOMINATED LOCALITIES
The three-day meeting chaired by RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat sent a clear message to the functionaries and party workers to leave no stone unturned to woo Dalit voters and check their dwindling numbers, when it comes to the BJP’s vote bank.
“The sharp decline among the party’s Dalit voters also remained a matter of concern at the meeting,” a party insider said.
GHOSI DEFEAT A MATTER OF CONCERN
The BJP’s defeat in the recent Ghosi bypolls and the diversion of Dalit voters towards the Samajwadi Party (SP) also came up during the discussion.
Ghosi is an Other Backward Class (OBC), Scheduled Caste (SC), Dalit and Scheduled Tribe-dominated seat, where there are around 60,000 Dalit voters. However, as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) took a backseat in the elections, there were only two major parties in the fray – the BJP and Samajwadi Party (SP). In such a situation, the 60,000 traditional BSP voters went with the SP, which is why the BJP lost, according to political analysts.
YOUTHS & NON-MUSLIMS
Roping in non-Hindus, especially the youths, remained the second-most discussed agenda in the RSS meet. Party insiders said the focus was to make the youth aware of the RSS ideology.
“In October, the seven-day Prathmik Shiksha Camp would be organised in UP. The main focus of these camps would be to induct youths from the marginalised sections, including the OBCs and Dalits,” said an insider.
He said that the RSS also plans to rope in non-Hindus to maintain the balance between the party’s traditional voters and non-Hindu voters.
“We were told not to discriminate between Hindu and non-Hindu voters. Instead, accept the invites of Muslims and non-Hindus and connect with all,” a party worker said.
REACH OUT TO NON-HINDUS AND DALIT VOTERS
As part of the public outreach, the RSS has also pressed in the ‘party vistaraks’ in the rural pockets of UP, where they will work among the rural folks, connect with the OBC, Dalits and non-Hindus and make them aware of the RSS ideology.
In the three-day meeting, the RSS leaders also held closed-door meetings with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya, along with BJP President Bhupendra Chaudhary.
Although RSS functionaries refused to disclose the minutes of the meeting, sources said the BJP’s strategy to retain power in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections remained the main agenda. They also discussed the awareness programmes, camps and various activities that would be held in different parts of the state to woo those belonging to the lower sections of society.
LOVE JIHAD: A MATTER OF CONCERN
Other than political issues, the social issue of love jihad was also discussed at length.
“Of late, the issues of love jihad, especially in the rural pockets of UP, have become rampant. It’s a matter of concern and there is a dire need to put a check to such malpractices,” the RSS Chief said in the meeting.
WOOING DALIT, OBC, SC & ST VOTERS
However, political analysts said that RSS meetings, especially ahead of the elections, are not a new thing in UP.
“Since 2017, ever since the BJP came to power in UP, RSS meetings have become common. However, the Dalit outreach programme seems to be the main agenda for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha Polls,” said Shashikant Pandey, head of department of political science at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University.
Pandey said the BJP’s performance in the tougher seats, including Ambedkarnagar, Azamgarh, Ghazipur, Ghosi, Lalganj and Jaunpur, would be a challenging task as the result in the 2019 polls was unsatisfactory.
“In such a situation, wooing Dalit, OBC, SC and ST voters would be a crucial task for the BJP. It is for the same reason why the BJP recently inducted Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) Chief Om Prakash Rajbhar and other OBC leaders from the opposition parties to expand its outreach in the Dalit-dominated seats,” he said.
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