Kasganj dulha grooms himself for Lok Sabha poll plunge
LUCKNOW: The Dalit groom of Kasganj, who shot to fame after winning a battle against the Thakurs of his village to ride a horse-drawn buggy to his wedding earlier this year, is now riding on that success to launch his political career.
Sanjay Jatav of Nizampur village in Uttar Pradesh, who shattered the centuries-old caste prejudice with his defiant act, has been hailed as a Dalit icon by the Congress, which is wooing the community with an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
While the party has not said anything about opening its doors to Jatav, the ‘Dalit dulha (groom)’ — as he has come to be known — is eyeing to leverage his new-found celebrity status to contest from either the Hathras reserved seat or from Etawah.
Though a primary member of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Jatav has found a mention in a section of Congress party’s official circular related to its special campaign, Samvidhan to Swabhiman Abhiyan, which was launched on November 12 to connect with Dalits.
According to Congress sources, the ‘development of new Dalit leadership’ section of the circular directs party workers to identify and associate with more people like Jatav, who has emerged as a role model for Dalits.
Sources said Jatav had responded to the Congress gesture as “good news” for him. He is said to be peeved with BSP leaders for not helping him in his battle to take his baraat from outside the Thakur homes. Jatav was the first Dalit in his village to ride a horse-drawn carriage, a right reserved for the upper castes.
Jatav’s battle for baraat
Sanjay Jatav, a 27-year-old Dalit, was granted permission to ride a horse-drawn carriage and take his baraat through upper caste areas in Nizampur village, by the district administration, which brokered peace between the Dalits and the Thakurs.