Amritsar: No polarisation on caste lines in the region, believe experts

Tribune News Service

Charanjit Singh Teja

Amritsar, January 19

If experts are to be believed, apart from the Congress appointing a ‘Dalit CM’ and the BSP’s alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to woo Dalit votes, there ain’t no polarisation in favour of any political party in the region.

There were assumptions that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may adopt the Haryana model to tap “Jatt dominance” in the region with a coalition of non-Jatt castes. However, the BJP is itself struggling for its space in the Dalit community. No major Dalit face has joined the party so far.

A few months ago, it was being propagated that Dalits were being ignored by the mainstream political parties as no party had appointed a Dalit CM for Punjab. The SAD had announced to appoint Dalit deputy CM. Meanwhile, Congress came up with Charanjit Singh Channi’s name as the CM of Punjab and satisfied the aspiration of the community.

Now, the Congress is again divided as to who the next CM face would be. Instead of annoying the Dalit community by not announcing Channi as the CM face, Congress has decided to contest the elections without a CM face.

“The voters in Punjab don’t think on communal and caste lines like that in UP and Haryana. Here, the vote dynamics are different. People from all religions, castes and social groups had supported the farm agitation against the three agri laws. Fortunately, voters in the region are not caste conscious. It is good for a healthy democracy. They are looking for a change keeping development in mind,” said advocate Vishav Luthra.

Professor Amandeep Singh Gill, a political expert, said: “With the appointment of Charanjit Singh Channi as the CM of Punjab, the Congress would definitely get some benefit. The Dalits in Majha region (rural), who were earlier with SAD, would now tilt toward the Congress. The BJP’s plan to polarise the Dalit votes has not succeeded.”

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