BJP’s Punjab outreach: PM to visit Dera Ballan on Ravidas Jayanti

Jalandhar: After announcing the Padma Shri to Dera Sachkhand Ballan head Sant Niranjan Dass, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the dera near Jalandhar on Feb 1 on the occasion of Guru Ravidas Jayanti. Union minister of state Ravneet Bittu on Tuesday said the PM would fly to the dera after the presentation of the Union Budget in Parliament and was likely to reach there at 4pm.On Dec 4, accompanied by BJP leaders from Punjab, Sant Niranjan Dass called on the PM to invite him to the Guru Ravidas Jayanti function held at Kanshi (Varanasi) on Feb 1. The dera controls the management of Guru Ravidas's birthplace at Kanshi. He also invited the PM to visit the Dera Ballan.The PM chose to visit the Dera Ballan itself on Ravidas Jayanti. Previously, the PM visited the Varanasi shrine during Ravidas Jayanti on three occasions. It will be the first time that he will visit Dera Ballan to mark the occasion. "Just after the Parliament session of that day concludes, the PM will fly to Jalandhar and is expected to be there at 4pm. He would pay tributes and also give his message to the people," Bittu told TOI on Monday."PM has been taking very keen interest in observing anniversaries of our Gurus and historic days. Grand and historic functions were held to mark the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak, the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Teg Bahadur, and Veer Bal Diwas. Now Guru Ravidas's 650th birth anniversary falls next year, and that would also be celebrated on a big scale," he said.Given the influence of the dera in the Ravidasia/Ad-dharmi community, the political significance of the two moves—awarding the Padma Shri to the dera head and now the PM's visit—cannot be lost, as the BJP has been desperately working at different levels to woo Dalit voters. The party has been engaging with the individual Scheduled Caste communities, which make around one third of the state population.On Dec 4, it was the first time that the Dera Ballan head called on the PM, and the meeting lasted for around 30 minutes. Last year, a special ‘Ardas' was performed for PM Modi on his birthday in Dera Ballan. Local administration and police started making preparations for PM's visit, after PMO alerted the top officials of Punjab.