Rediscovery of Ambedkar

In a strategic move to wean away Dalit voters from Mayawati's fold, Rahul Gandhi flags off rath yatras on Ambedkar jayanti through all Dalit-dominated areas in UP
Pradeep Kapoor Lucknow

The Congress launched its campaign for the next assembly elections in UP on April 14 by flagging off the Sandesh Chetna Rath Yatra. Rahul Gandhi addressed a huge gathering of potential voters in the Ambedkar Nagar ground on the same day in the Faizabad division. Political analysts were left wondering why the Congress general secretary decided to launch this campaign - 'Mission-2012' - on Ambedkar jayanti, that too from Ambedkar Nagar.  

Rahul chose to address crowds at Ambedkar Nagar since it is also a stronghold of UP Chief Minister Mayawati. The launch of this campaign was selected on Ambedkar jayanti to convey to the nation and to the people of UP that the Congress is genuinely interested in working for Dalits. It is worth mentioning that the BSP had won all the assembly seats here during the last elections assuring Mayawati a seat in the Lok Sabha. Her government has two important ministers from Ambedkar Nagar. 

Dalits have traditionally been Congress supporters till they were won over by Kanshiram, the founder of BSP and Mayawati's mentor. Rahul and his strategists have been working on the plan to bring back Dalits to the Congress-fold. The young leader has gone several times to their poor bastis (villages), shared meals with them and spent nights in their homes in order to win their confidence. His visit was welcomed since no other politician, not even from the BSP, had spent that kind of time with villagers of India, especially the poorest of the poor. Once Rahul even brought along the young British Foreign Secretary, David Millilband, to a Dalit village in his own Lok Sabha constituency - Amethi - and both spent quality time with the villagers, including a typical village night in the open.

The Congress leader's visit to Dalit villages not only provided first-hand information to him about the ground reality but also forced the Mayawati government to accelerate the implementation of various schemes designed for Dalits. She now seems to have dropped the social engineering slogan of 'sarvjan hitai' (the good of everyone) and is keenly pursuing her original constituency of the Dalit agenda, reflected amply through her address to party workers at the maharally held in March in Lucknow to commemorate 25 years of her party. Besides, she has demoted her high-profile aide, Satish Mishra, a Brahmin, and has given cushy positions to Dalit leaders to send a signal to her constituency. She has also sacked the mafia don, Mukhtar Ansari, his brother, and is planning to cleanse her party of several criminals she has patronised to flex muscle, despite having launched a campaign earlier against Mulayam Singh Yadav for protecting criminals.