Did Dalit concern about ‘Jatshahi’, ‘kharchi-parchi’ damage Congress in Haryana?

The backlash Selja spoke of was not lone the effect to the party’s over-reliance connected the Hoodas — Bhupinder Singh Hooda was fixed a escaped manus successful the organisation of enactment tickets, to the exclusion of others, was allowed to prime 72 of 90 candidates. Selja, a Dalit, could not adjacent get tickets for 4 of her main supporters and was not allowed by the precocious bid to contention the Assembly elections though she wanted to.

Hooda besides ruled retired a tie-up with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and that backfired successful 3 seats wherever the enactment polled much votes than the BJP’s triumph margin.

The Hooda-Selja tussle is not new. What is caller this clip is the monolithic non-Jat consolidation that seems to person taken spot nether Hooda’s leadership. Many Dalits were apprehensive astir the instrumentality of what they called “Jatshahi (Jat dominance)” and the “kharchi, parchi” system of giving jobs to favourites. The contented of corruption besides came up repeatedly successful Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speeches.

The disagreement betwixt Jats and non-Jats is thing new. It has been a governmental world since the days of erstwhile Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, and was liable for the BJP victories successful the authorities successful 2014 and 2019. But this time, the Jats who were divided betwixt the Congress, BJP, and Jannnayak Janta Party (JJP) successful 2019, were seen to beryllium consolidating much down the Congress.

The Jats were vocal successful expressing their angst against the BJP for not choosing a Jat CM, for trying to bring the 3 workplace laws (repealed successful 2021), and the wrestlers’ agitation against intersexual harassment. Of the 29 Jat-dominated seats — arsenic per the Trivedi Centre for Political Data astatine Ashoka University — the BJP won 18 seats, the Congress nine, and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) 2 constituencies. This did not needfully mean that the Jats voted successful ample numbers for the BJP. It could besides mean that non-Jats successful these constituencies with a sizable Jat colonisation (above 20%) polarised sharply and voted for the BJP.

The results besides bespeak that municipality voters opted for the BJP, untouched either by the farmers’ protests, the wrestlers’ agitation, oregon the protests against the Agnipath strategy successful the Jat community. Of the 25 municipality seats successful Haryana, which is 40% urban, the BJP won 18, the Congress five, and Independents two.

But this time, and this is significant, the BJP besides made inroads successful agrarian constituencies and this goes to amusement that a chunk of Dalits and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) whitethorn person gone backmost to the BJP successful agrarian areas. Of the 65 agrarian seats, the BJP won 32, the Congress 30, and the INLD bagged two, portion 1 went to an Independent. The 17 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) were divided astir arsenic betwixt the 2 parties, with 9 going to the Congress and 8 to the BJP. The Congress’s ballot was concentrated and it won by ample margins, portion the BJP’s votes were dispersed out.

What moved Dalits

The “J (Jat)” origin — they comprise 25% of the electorate — whitethorn person triggered the “D (Dalit)” response, with the second who comprise 21% of the colonisation becoming much conscious of their rights and little consenting to person different groups thrust roughshod implicit them. There is simply a likelihood that they struck backmost silently portion the Jats were much vociferous successful their enactment for alteration (and the Congress). The question that remains is if Dalits and OBCs moved backmost to the BJP, fearing Jat domination.

In the Lok Sabha polls, successful which the Congress won 5 of the 10 constituencies, Dalits and OBCs had veered towards the Congress. And this was seen arsenic 1 of the reasons wherefore the BJP fell abbreviated of a bulk connected its own.

Selja’s unhappiness astatine not being fixed her owed — she did not run for the enactment and “sat astatine home” for 2 weeks — was noted by her community. With factionalism coming to the fore, the Congress stock, it was said astatine the time, went down. When she attended a Rahul Gandhi rally on with Hooda, the concern seemed to stabilise. “Had she continued to sulk, the BJP would person won,” a Dalit successful Sohna said days earlier polling. That yet came to pass.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini being greeted pursuing the BJP’s triumph successful Haryana. (Photo: PTI)

Many Dalits called for a “non-Jat CM” if the Congress returned to power. Selja whitethorn person go a awesome of Dalit anguish and the community’s increasing refusal to beryllium taken for granted. “We garbage to beryllium treated similar a trash army,” said a elder Dalit person successful the Congress.

The Haryana results request a deeper survey to recognize the connection that the voters person tried to give: that those connected the margins present privation their spot successful the powerfulness operation and that the Congress has nary enactment but to go an umbrella enactment again.

(Neerja Chowdhury, Contributing Editor, The Indian Express, has covered the past 11 Lok Sabha elections. She is the writer of How Prime Ministers Decide)