Political equations in Maharashtra appear to be changing, with dalits, especially neo-Buddhists, refusing to remain a vote bank of either one party or a front after realising that they failed to get their due even after remaining with the parties in power.
This has compelled the major political parties — the Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena and the BJP — to launch a campaign in a bid to keep dalits in good humour. The third alternative in Maharashtra, consisting of non- Congress-NCP and Shiv Sena-BJP, has become irrelevant politically.
Maratha, Muslims and dalits have been the winning combination of the Congress-NCP combine. Neo-Buddhists remained with them mainly because of the Shiv Sena-BJP’s Hindutva ideology. Now, the Congress-NCP plans to use the Hindutva card to stop dalits from moving towards the saffron combine.
While the Congress party is celebrating Samajik Samata Varsha from April 14, the birth anniversary of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, across the state, the Sharad Pawar-led party has demanded that the Dadar railway station in Mumbai be named “chaityabhoomi”.
Chaityabhoomi is the memorial of Dr Ambedkar (he was cremated there) near Dadar railway station in central Mumbai. Lakhs gather at Chaityabhoomi to remember him on his death anniversary each year.
NCP supremo Sharad Pawar has succeeded in renaming Marathwada University at Aurangabad after Dr Ambedkar. He took nearly 15 years to bring upper castes and dalits together after a prolonged battle and evolved consensus on renaming the university.
The NCP will be coming out with a “dalit sanad” (charter of demands) in a convention of the party to be held in Mumbai on June 10, its formation day.
Interestingly, the Congress-NCP have been in power in the state and at the Centre. Instead of announcing welfare schemes for dalits, they are making demands with a calculation that this would help them to keep their support base among dalits intact.
But the fact is that top dalit leaders who are product of movements are not considering the Shiv Sena-BJP politically untouchable. Their leadership grew outside the RPI.
While Ramdas Athawale has already moved closer to the Shiv Sena-BJP combine, saying that the coming together of the “Shiv shakti” and “Bhim shakti” is the need of the hour, Mr Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, does not consider the Sena-BJP untouchable. On the other hand, Mr Namdeo Dhasal, the former chief of Dalit Panthers Party, has been with the Shiv Sena.