Punjab polls: 5-way contest, Ravidassias hold the key

Chandigarh, January 19

As Punjab will witness a five-cornered contest, Ravidassias, one of the prominent Dalit communities, holds the key to the political outcomes during the 2022 Assembly polls.

The relevance of Ravidassias can be gauged from the fact all the political parties urged the EC to postpone voting (from February 14) as lakhs of members of the community travel from Punjab to Varanasi to celebrate Guru Ravidas Jayanti. Heeding to the request, the EC postponed the voting to February 20.

Of nearly 32% Dalit population in the state, 60% comprise Ravidassias, mostly spread out in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Kapurthala districts of Doaba.

While the Congress has been trying to garner votes by appointing first Dalit Sikh CM Charanjit Singh Channi, the SAD-BSP has also announced to appoint a Dalit Deputy CM after formation of their government. Thus, the voting pattern of the community would be interesting to see. In the past, the community has remained divided on caste and political lines.

A senior Dalit leader, Ram Lal Jassi, said it’s yet to be seen whether the Congress uses Channi to win the polls or empowers the Dalits by making him the CM for the next five years. “It has to been seen if Jats and Hindus approve of Dalit leadership or vote on community and caste lines.”

During the 2017 polls, a large section of Dalit voters polled in favour of Congress, followed by SAD and AAP. By entering into and alliance with BSP, Akalis hope to perform better this time. —