BJP Plays Dalit Ace In Haryana

The move, a first in the country after the Supreme Court order, is intended to consolidate the BJP's Dalit outreach in Haryana.

In its first meeting, the Nayab Singh Saini-led Haryana cabinet on Friday announced that the state government would implement, with immediate effect, the Supreme Court's order on the sub-classification of scheduled castes.

The move, a first in the country after the apex court order, is intended to further consolidate the Bharatiya Janata Party's Dalit outreach in the state, which earmarks 20 per cent reservation for SCs in government jobs and education.

In the run-up to the assembly polls, and a fortnight after the Supreme Court's August 1 verdict on the sub-classification of SCs, the Saini government had approved the Haryana Scheduled Caste Commission Report.

The Commission recommended a 10 per cent sub-quota for 'deprived scheduled castes' in state government jobs. The decision was announced after the model code of conduct had kicked in.

After it lost both scheduled caste-reserved seats -- Sirsa and Ambala -- during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, and its assessment suggested that Dalits supported the Congress, which won half of the 10 Lok Sabha seats, the Saini government reached out to the state's scheduled castes with welfare schemes ahead of the assembly polls.

The BJP's focus in Haryana was to assuage the non-dominant castes among the scheduled castes, or 'deprived scheduled castes,' such as Balmikis and Dhanaks.

In the 2024 assembly polls, according to the CSDS-Lokniti post-poll study, the Congress received support from a majority of Jatavs, while the BJP attracted votes from 'other' or 'deprived' scheduled castes.

According to the CSDS data, 50 per cent of Jatavs voted for the Congress and 35 per cent for the BJP.

Among 'other scheduled castes,' 45 per cent voted for the BJP and 33 per cent for the Congress.

BJP strategists believe support from 'deprived scheduled castes' made the difference, leading to the party's 39.94 per cent vote share, which ensured it won 48 seats against the Congress' 39.09 per cent vote share and 37 seats.

The BJP won eight of the 17 seats reserved for scheduled castes, up from five in 2019.

The previous BJP government had argued that the benefits of reservation in the state had primarily gone to Jatavs.

In 2020, the Haryana government had introduced a Bill to increase the sub-quota for 'deprived scheduled' in government-run educational institutions within the 20 per cent quota to 50 per cent.

It had identified 36 scheduled castes, barring the dominant Jatavs, as 'deprived scheduled castes'.

The Bill stated that the share of 'deprived scheduled castes' in state government jobs was less than 6 per cent, 'even though their population is about 11 per cent of the total state population.'

It cited the 2011 Census, which found that 46.75 per cent of 'deprived scheduled castes' were illiterate, and noted their social and educational backwardness makes them a distinct class of citizens unable to compete with dominant scheduled castes.

According to the 2011 Census, scheduled castes comprised 20.2 per cent of Haryana's total population.

Among Haryana's scheduled castes population, Jatavs are electorally the most significant and are estimated to make up nearly 50 per cent, followed by Balmikis (25 to 30 per cent), Dhanaks (10 per cent), with the rest being 34 smaller scheduled caste groups.

In 1994, the Haryana government classified scheduled castes into two categories, subdividing the quota into equal halves.

In 2006, the Punjab and Haryana high court quashed the 1994 notification.

However, the seven-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, in its August 1 verdict, empowered states to make sub-classifications within scheduled caste quotas to uplift more underprivileged castes within these communities.

The Bench stressed that sub-classification must be justified by 'quantifiable and demonstrable data by the states, which cannot act on their whims'.

The BJP chose Valmiki Jayanti, which fell on Thursday, for Saini and his 13-member council of ministers to take the oath. Saini offered prayers at a Valmiki temple in Panchkula before the ceremony.

In a post on X, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said the Haryana cabinet's decision was a 'conspiracy' to divide Dalits and render reservations 'ineffective'.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com