Balancing BJP’s Support for Dalit Vote in Haryana Assembly Election

• The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is focusing on the Dalit vote as the final phase of the Assembly election in Haryana.
• The BJP has given candidates from the deprived group ticket in nine out of the 17 reserved Assembly seats, while the other section received eight.
• The Haryana State Scheduled Castes Commission has made two sub-categories: 36 castes under the deprived category and others.
• BJP has been careful about accommodating the deprived category during the Lok Sabha election and hopes voters will see this during the Assembly election.
• The party is also addressing resentment with former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
• The Scheduled Castes account for around 20% of Haryana’s population, important in nearly 47 Assembly constituencies.
• BJP’s share of this vote bank has been progressively shrinking, with the party hoping to secure support among these communities.