Ram Nath Kovind: BJP's Dalit outreach is a PM Modi masterstroke

The BJP’s dalit outreach has become evident with its choice of nominating Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as the next President of India. There is no doubt that Kovind is a qualified lawyer and was twice nominated to the Rajya Sabha. He not only served on important parliamentary panels, but also worked for the organisation.

But for good or bad, Kovind’s dalit identity would remain the prism through which his election to the high office would be observed because he belongs to the Kori community. They belong to less-privileged section within dalits, which in general parlance are described as non Jatavs. Post-independence, the Jatavs continue to dominate leadership position within Dalits but Kovind’s candidature changes the game.

Despite getting a reasonable non-Jatav vote in the past three years, the BJP has faced flak from the Opposition, who constantly barrage the Centre for being ‘anti-dalit’.

BJP had come under considerable attack from the Congress after the Rohith Vemula episode. This was followed by the assembly elections in Bihar, where RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat spoke on reservations. BJP attempted damage control, but the statement cost the party the Bihar elections.

The Centre’s problems were further complicated thanks to gau rakshaks and the violence they perpetrated. A number of dalits, who have businesses in tanneries, were assaulted by the rakshaks. Many academicians have also argued that by depriving beef to dalits, the ruling class has ended up depriving cheap source of protein to the most oppressed section of the Indian state. The Congress used this to their advantage, while criticising the Centre’s three-year performance.

On the surface BJP remained dismissive but understood the danger that the debate held the potential to paint BJP as anti-Dalit and pro industrialists in front of the electorate.

By selecting Kovind, BJP wants to rest the debate on the dalit issue. The aim is not to create a consensus on the name but to push a candidate who can send a strong signal to the dalit community that this choice was made with a purpose that the BJP remains committed to the dalit cause. This is why BJP President Amit Shah continues to break bread with dalits all through the expansion programme of BJP in India.

Another reason for this decision is that today BJP might have strong upper caste and OBC faces through India but doesn’t have a pan-India dalit leader in its stable. The same can be said about the Congress today, but it does have a history of dalit leadership. Other Dalit leaders belonging to non-Congress fold such as Mayawati remain rooted to state politics.

By elevating Kovind through a non-electoral and non-organisational mode, BJP looks to have appealed to the dalit, which will make life tougher for the UPA.

The Opposition will need to be creative in fielding a candidate against Ram Nath Kovind. It will need to portray a face which either outshines the imagination around Kovind or dominate the very discourse on which his selection has taken place.

Congress may accuse BJP of symbolism, but it also made KR Narayanan the first dalit President of India. It is also not without reason that Mallikarjun Kharge, a dalit, is the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha.  

In the first three years of the Modi government, the Opposition has had the upper hand on the narrative on dalit politics. However, Kovind’s nomination will determine if it has successfully managed its dalit outreach.