Jalandhar (W) bypoll: Ravidass centre a non-starter, Punjab CM announces Kabir Dham

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, June 25

Even a year after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal laid the foundation stone of Guru Ravidass Bani Adhyayan Centre at Dera Sachkhand Ballan ahead of the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll in 2023, no work has commenced at the site.

Now, Mann’s decision to announce setting up of Bhagat Kabir Dham for research on life and philosophy of Kabir, right before the Jalandhar (West) bypoll has drawn sharp reactions from locals. It was announced by the CM on June 22 in Hoshiarpur.

The Jalandhar (West) Assembly segment, which goes to the poll on July 10, is dominated by Bhagat, Ravidassia, Valmiki and Kabirpanthi communities. The 48,000-strong Bhagat community comprises the predominant votebank. Ravidassias and Valmikis have 30,000 and 19,000 voters, respectively.

One of the reasons AAP lost the Jalandhar parliamentary poll was lack of support of Dera Sachkhand Ballan.

Last year, AAP candidate Sushil Kumar Rinku had polled 3.2 lakh votes and won by a margin of over 58,000 votes. This time, AAP candidate got only 2.08 lakh votes.

Ambedkarite scholar, Prof GC Kaul, said, “Populist promises reflect exploitation of Dalits when the governments can’t provide actual necessities.”