Delhi polls: BJP focuses on intensive outreach in 30 Dalit-dominated seats

The party failed to win even one of the 12 SC (Scheduled Castes) reserved constituencies in the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections.
BJP SC Morcha national president Lal Singh Arya
BJP SC Morcha national president Lal Singh Arya (Photo| Facebook)
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NEW DELHI: The BJP is hopeful of "markedly improving" its performance in Dalit-dominated constituencies of the city through a sustained and focused outreach campaign, spread over several months ahead of the February 5 assembly polls, party leaders said.

The party failed to win even one of the 12 SC (Scheduled Castes) reserved constituencies in the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections.

In previous elections, too, the BJP never won more than two or three of these seats.

There are 30 assembly constituencies in Delhi, including 12 reserved for SC candidates, where Dalit community voters make up between 17% and 45%, according to Delhi BJP leaders.

Apart from the 12 reserved constituencies, there are 18 other seats with up to 25% SC community voters, including Rajender Nagar, Chandni Chowk, Adarsh Nagar, Shahdara, Tughlaqabad, and Bijwasan. The BJP and its SC Morcha have worked in these areas over the past several months, they said.

An elaborate outreach campaign through SC workers was conducted in the slums and unauthorized colonies of these 30 constituencies in recent months.

Delhi BJP SC Morcha president Mohan Lal Gihara said senior SC workers were appointed as "Vistarak" (expanders) in all these constituencies for focused outreach among community members.

The Vistarak further deputed 10 Dalit youth at each polling booth for person-to-person contact in various localities and residential areas in these constituencies, he said.

The party has identified more than 5,600 polling booths, with special focus on over 1,900 of them.

The entire voter engagement initiative, aimed at explaining the works done for the community by the Modi government and the "failures" of the AAP in its 10 years in power, involved a network of over 18,000 active workers, party leaders said.

In the second phase of outreach, the party roped in 55 prominent Dalit leaders, including former Union ministers and MPs from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana.

Marathon meetings were held in these constituencies, they added.

Additionally, around 3,500 prominent community leaders, identified as key voters with political influence in their neighborhoods, were contacted to deepen the outreach.

The party began holding "SC Swabhiman Sammelans" in these constituencies to honor political influencers, professionals, achievers, and prominent locals from the community, starting in December.

So far, 15 such conventions have been held, each attended by a senior BJP leader. The events have garnered significant support from the community, with 1,500 to 2,500 Dalit community members attending each gathering.

Each participant received a personal invitation to these meetings in a bid to strengthen their sense of "self-respect" and bond with the party, Gihara said.

Voting for 70 Assembly constituencies in Delhi will be held on February 5, with results to be declared after the vote count on February 8.

The BJP was routed by the Aam Aadmi Party, which also won all the Dalit-dominated seats in 2015 and 2020.

The saffron party has been out of power in the city since 1998.

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