In its attempt to woo the scheduled caste (SC) voters ahead of the Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh will organise a “social harmony yatra”.
The yatra named ‘Sant Shiromani Ravidas Ji Samarsata Yatra’ will be flagged off by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on July 25 from Singrauli district.
The 18-day yatra will be organised across the state, including Singrauli and Neemuch in the east, Balaghat in the south, and Morena in the north and will conclude on August 12 in Sagar city in Bundelkhand region where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of a temple and museum dedicated to Sant Ravidas.
16% of the total population in MP belongs to the SC communities out of which, the maximum is in Bundelkhand and Chambal. There are 35 constituencies reserved for SC in MP. In 2018, BJP won 17 scheduled caste reserved seats while 28 in 2013.
On July 24, MP BJP SC president Dr Kailash Jatav, along with other leaders, will visit Varanasi to start the yatra from the birthplace of Sant Ravidas. “This 18-day yatra is being organised to make people aware of the discrimination against SC and to bring social harmony to society.”
People will also be made aware various schemes by the BJP, he said.
{{/usCountry}}People will also be made aware various schemes by the BJP, he said.
{{/usCountry}}This is the second mass event of the BJP for the SC community in MP. In April, the BJP organised a Mahakumbh of scheduled caste members in Gwalior to observe the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar.
According to the experts, through this yatra, the BJP is attempting to woo Dalit voters to win 26 seats in Bundelkhand and 30 seats in Gwalior and Chambal regions.
“To win seats in these regions, it is necessary to woo scheduled caste voters because they are equally important on general seats too. These events are important as the state government didn’t receive much response about many schemes including Jal Nal Yojna, highly important in draught hit Bundelkhand. How will this impact the party’s performance will be known during the elections only,” said political analyst from Bundelkhand Sudesh Tiwari.