In Delhi seats with high Dalit numbers, BJP is still struggling

In contrast, the AAP won 10 seats wherever the Dalit colonisation is implicit 20% and 7 wherever they marque up implicit 25%. In 1 of the constituencies, Trilokpuri, wherever Dalits marque up much than a 4th of the population, the BJP’s triumph borderline implicit the AAP was conscionable 392 votes.

In the 2020 Assembly polls erstwhile the AAP had won 62 of the 70 seats successful Delhi, the BJP had won lone 1 of the 36 seats with a important Dalit presence, Rohtas Nagar. It retained Rohtas Nagar, wherever 19.9% of the colonisation is Dalit, successful these polls.

The AAP had won each the 12 reserved seats past time, which see Bawana, Sultanpur Majra, Mangol Puri, Karol Bagh, Patel Nagar, Madipur, Deoli, Ambedkar Nagar, Trilokpuri, Kondli, Seemapuri, Gokalpur.

These constituencies comprise the highest stock of Dalits successful the colonisation successful Delhi arsenic per the Election Commission information – Sultanpur Majra (44%), followed by Karol Bagh (41%), Gokalpur (37%), Mangol Puri (36%), Trilokpuri (32%), Ambedkar Nagar (31%), Seemapuri (31%), Madipur (29%), Kondli (27%), Deoli (27%), Bawana (24%) and Patel Nagar (23%).

Besides these 12, constituencies specified arsenic Rajinder Nagar (22%), Wazirpur (22%), Tughlakabad (22%), Ballimaran (22%), Nangloi Jat (21%) and Narela (21%) besides person important Dalit populations.

In the different 18 constituencies, the Dalits comprise little than 20% of the population.

This time, the BJP won the reserved Mangol Puri, Trilokpuri, Madipur and Bawana seats, isolated from Wazirpur, Rajinder Nagar, Nangloi Jat and Narela wherever implicit 20% of the colonisation is Dalit. All were won by the AAP successful 2020.

Last time, barring Rohtas Nagar, the 8 seats that the BJP won had each travel successful constituencies wherever the Dalit colonisation is tiny – Rohini (6%), Karawal Nagar (8%), Laxmi Nagar (9%), Gandhi Nagar (11%), Badarpur (12%), Vishwas Nagar (13%) and Ghonda (13%).

In 2015, the BJP had won Rohini, Vishwas Nagar and Mustafabad (13%), again seats with debased Dalit populations.

Rohini constituency, which the enactment has consistently won adjacent amidst AAP sweeps, has the lowest Dalit colonisation for immoderate constituency successful the National Capital.

In 1993, erstwhile the BJP past formed a authorities successful Delhi – its lone 1 till present – winning 49 of 70 seats, it had got 8 of the 13 seats past reserved for Dalits.

The Dalit ballot was believed to person archetypal shifted to the Congress successful the Capital, which ruled Delhi from 1998 to 2013, and subsequently to the AAP.

In the 1998 polls, erstwhile the BJP won 15 seats, not a azygous of those was a reserved constituency. In 2003, erstwhile it improved its show to 20 seats, 2 were SC-reserved. In 2008 and 2013 too, its tally successful SC-reserved seats remained 2 each.

To enactment up its enactment among the Dalits, peculiarly aft the Lok Sabha results indicated the assemblage had turned distant from the BJP, the enactment had fielded Dalits from 2 non-reserved constituencies arsenic good this time, isolated from the 12 reserved ones. However, its candidates successful some these seats – Ballimaran and Matia Mahal – mislaid to the AAP by important margins.

Ashok Bharti, Chairman of the National Confederation of Dalit Organisations, which conducted a survey among Dalits up of the Delhi polls, believes it was mostly the AAP government’s schemes which saved the enactment successful Dalit seats.

“The schemes were rather fashionable among Dalit women particularly. Also, since Dalits are a assemblage aspiring acquisition advancement, improvements successful authorities schools and healthcare were appreciated by them. Arvind Kejriwal was besides capable to person voters that helium was not portion of the anti-Constitutional forces successful the country. It has been an contented among Dalits, particularly the Jatavs, who are a bulk among Dalits successful Delhi,” Bharti said, referring to the Opposition’s claims that a ascendant Modi authorities could change the Constitution oregon region reservation.

Yogender Chandolia, the BJP MP from North West Delhi, the sole reserved Lok Sabha spot successful the Capital, said the BJP’s deficiency of occurrence successful astir of the reserved Assembly seats was not for privation of effort but a effect of decades of anti-SC/ST propaganda against it by the Congress.

“It is not similar we bash not effort to physique a stronger instauration of enactment among the city’s Dalit community… we person won 4 (of the reserved) seats… But it is besides existent that radical from the assemblage look to consciousness that the BJP volition not enactment for them owed to the antagonistic propaganda by the Congress,” Chandolia said.

Elaborating further, helium said, “Congress chahti hai yeh lage ki sirf woh SC samaj ki samarthak hai (The Congress wants to convey the content that it is the lone enactment that is simply a protagonist of the Scheduled Castes)…We had not been capable to pass this wholly to the radical truthful far, but aft Modi ji came to power, we person made memorials of Ambedkar crossed the world… The mediocre (from the community) are not capable to recognize this wholly yet, but we volition proceed trying.”