OBCs in, Dalits out

In caste-ridden Haryana, Dalit politics has clearly taken a back seat. When the Congress replaced Dalit leader Udai Bhan with OBC face Rao Narendra Singh as state chief, it signalled more than a routine reshuffle — it marked the end of a long Dalit run in the party’s state leadership. The Congress had a Dalit at the helm since 2007.

With the BSP virtually wiped out from both national and state politics, no outfit in Haryana is in a position to consolidate the 20% Dalit vote bank. Prominent Dalit leaders across parties — Kumari Selja, Udai Bhan and Ashok Tanwar in Congress; Krishan Bedi and Banwari Lal in BJP; and Prakash Bharti in INLD — now play second fiddle to dominant OBC and Jat leaderships.

Though some of these leaders may find relevance nationally, their influence in state politics is now limited and tightly controlled. Despite 17 of 90 Assembly seats being reserved for Scheduled Castes, no major party has shown faith in a Dalit to lead its state unit.

At one point, the BSP was a force to reckon with — boasting an MP and a few MLAs in the early 2000s — and major parties like Congress and INLD courted it as a junior ally. Even the BJP once had a Dalit state president.

However, the emergence of the BJP as a dominant force after 2014, powered largely by the non-Jat electorate, changed the state’s political narrative. The elevation of Punjabi Manohar Lal Khattar, the first non-Jat CM in 18 years, pushed the Jats — about 25% of Haryana’s electorate — out of their traditional dominance.

In appointing OBC Rao Narendra Singh, the Congress appears to have taken a cue from the ruling BJP, which projected OBC leader Nayab Singh Saini as its chief ministerial face in the October 2024 Assembly polls. At stake is the 30% OBC vote bank that helped BJP secure back-to-back victories.

By opting for a Jat-Yadav (OBC) combination — retaining Bhupinder Singh Hooda as Leader of Opposition while replacing a Dalit president — Congress has clearly redrawn its caste strategy. Since 2007, the party had relied on a Jat–SC mix, giving the top organisational post to Dalits.

But with BJP reaping electoral dividends from non-Jat, urban voters since 2014, Congress seems to be changing course. While family-led parties like INLD and JJP continue to cling to Jat leadership, both the BJP and Congress are now leaning towards OBC-centric politics — and the collateral damage is being borne by Dalit representation.