With TS people rejecting Hindutva rhetoric, BJP plans to woo weaker sections

BJP has reportedly decided to tone down its Hindutva rhetoric and concentrate on garnering the support of dalits, tribals and backward castes.

Hyderabad: Realizing that the party cannot win the forthcoming Assembly elections using strategies adopted in the Hindi heartland, the Bharatiya Janata Party has reportedly decided to tone down its Hindutva rhetoric and concentrate on garnering the support of dalits, tribals and backward castes, who form a significant part of the population in the State.

In fact, a few State BJP leaders have suggested to the party leadership to declare a Chief Ministerial candidate from these communities, especially from the BC community, which constitutes over 50 percent of the total population. They feel that by doing so, the party could manage to get the support of these communities in the polls.

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Following this, the State leadership has constituted a special team to focus on these communities, especially those sub-castes that have so far not got enough political representation in the State. Besides, the party leadership also wants the State unit to focus on SC and ST reserved seats and also target as many voters as possible from these communities in the general constituencies.

The party is also planning to give key posts to leaders belonging to weaker sections in the party. K Laxman, a prominent BC leader, who has been made Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh and former State president Bandi Sanjay, who too belongs to the BC community of Mudiraj, have been asked to take lead in garnering the support of their communities. Similarly, leaders from SC and ST communities were also being given prominent posts in the party.

As per the 2011 Census, the State’s SC population stood at 54.09 lakh while the ST population was 31.78 lakh, which amounts to 15.46 percent and 9 percent respectively of the total population. There are about 32 castes in the Telangana tribe list and 59 castes in the SC list. OBCs, which roughly constitute 54 percent of the total population, have about 144 listed castes and sub-castes.

There are 19 Scheduled Caste and 12 Scheduled Tribes constituencies in the State and out of them a majority, especially SC reserved seats, are with the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), followed by the Congress. Since the BRS has a more acceptable image among weaker sections, the BJP leadership has asked its functionaries to take up rigorous campaigns in BRS strongholds.

The BJP, traditionally associated with upper caste Hindu voters and described as a ‘Brahmin-Bania party’ is trying to shake off this image in the Southern States. It has also asked the State SC Morcha members to take up outreach programmes.

However, the anti-dalit violence by individuals and groups aligned with the BJP’s Hindutva agenda has affected the image of the party and is likely to hurt it more in these parts of the country.