NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Punjab polls, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government announced that Ravidass Jayanti on February 16 would be celebrated as a public holiday. Subsequently, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal issued a notification declaring a public holiday on the birth anniversary of the saint. “The Lieutenant Governor...is pleased to declare Wednesdays (February 16) as a holiday in all government offices under the government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, on account of Guru Ravidass birthday,” the notification read.
Kejriwal, tweeting the announcement, added that on the ocassion of the birth anniversary of Sant Guru Ravidass, the Delhi government has declared a public holiday on Wednesday (February 16).
A 15th-16th century mystic poet-saint of the Bhakti Movement, Ravidass worked for the eradication of caste system and espoused the rights of the untouchable.
The Ravidass community is an important sect in Punjab, which is evident in the Election Commission postponing the poll in Punjab from February 14 to February 20. Several representations from various political parties had urged the Election Commission that the poll date would clash with Guru Ravidass Jayanti, an annual three-day affair, starting February 16 for which members from this community, who identify themselves as Ravidassias, travel to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh in large numbers.
With just five days left to the polls, the votes from this community hold immense significance for political parties. The community has a major section concentrated in the Doaba region, which comprises 23 of Punjab’s total 117 Assembly seats. The Dera Sachkhand Ballan in Jalandhar is the largest dera of Ravidassias. The AAP is contesting on its own with the hope of striking gold in its second attempt in Punjab.