The caste equation and politics over caste has always been a trump card for any political party. Sometimes it becomes the trump card while at other times it also becomes the achilies heel. This time Congress was able to play well using this caste card in Lok Sabha elections. It can be said that caste card also attributed to victory over 99 seats.
However, the true challenge for Congress, which highlighted caste politics during the Lok Sabha elections, now lies ahead in the Haryana elections. In Haryana, all political parties are emphasizing social engineering. Learning from the Lok Sabha election outcomes, BJP has strategically focused on social engineering, assigning key responsibilities to leaders from the Jat, Brahmin, Gujjar, and OBC communities to secure a third consecutive term in government. In contrast, Congress appears to be prioritizing a formula centered around Jats and Dalits.
Rahul Gandhi is actively engaging in politics focusing on backward classes. The upcoming scenario in Haryana suggests that the primary battle will revolve around winning over Jat and Dalit voters. Today, the Indian National Lok Dal has renewed its alliance with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party, aiming to secure the support of Jat and Dalit voters and directly challenging Congress’s voter base. Additionally, the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) will also focus on attracting Jat voters in the upcoming elections.
The Aam Aadmi Party is preparing for the upcoming elections in Haryana. Initially, Congress and the Gandhi family opposed sending AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal to jail during the Lok Sabha elections. They formed an alliance and allocated the Kurukshetra seat to AAP to block BJP from gaining power. However, after the elections, Congress ended its alliance with Kejriwal’s party. Nevertheless, AAP is now ready to contest all 90 seats in Haryana, leading to a competitive multi-cornered contest.
In a multi-cornered contest scenario, BJP stands to benefit from a stable vote bank while the opposition’s votes may be divided. Nonetheless, BJP has placed significant emphasis on social engineering this time, learning from past defeats in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh where it failed to secure votes from key communities like Jats, Gurjars, Meenas, Dalits, and OBCs on reservation issues. In Haryana, BJP has strategically appointed a Jat as state in-charge, an OBC as Chief Minister, a Brahmin as state president, and a Gurjar as co-in-charge, aiming to strengthen its electoral prospects through inclusive representation.
Former CM and Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is already there as the Punjabi face. In this situation, BJP looks strong. However, it does not seem that the issue of reservation will be effective now. This is the real challenge before Congress. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi played backward class politics in the general elections. He made the issue of Constitution being in danger to get the votes of backward classes. It remains to be seen how effective the card of backward class and minority politics will be for Congress in a state like Haryana. Anyway, convincing non-Jats is also a difficult task for Congress. Because even if BJP does not want it, the election becomes Jat versus others. Parties of Chautala family also keep an eye on Jat voters. Along with this, they try to woo Dalit voters. In such a situation, the real test of Congress’s caste politics will be in Haryana only.
