Haryana parties focus on caste divide to win Lok Sabha seats

Chandigarh: It is common to find caste, creed, community, and religion playing a role in elections - from panchayat to assembly and Parliament - but perhaps for the first time, caste has taken centre stage in Haryana.The caste factor is so strong in the state that ruling BJP replaced chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar in March with a non-MLA, Kurukshetra MP Nayab Singh Saini, to ensure support of the backward community.

During campaigning too, BJP has been focussing on caste-based groups to tackle anti-incumbency its govt faces, especially among rural voters, most of whom belong to the Jat community.Giving credence to the importance of caste in this election, the ruling BJP govt even sought Election Commission’s permission this month to appoint a person belonging to the Ror community, which has a significant presence in Karnal parliamentary seat, as the chairman of Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC).Despite the govt’s reasoning, it is widely accepted that there was no immediate need to fill the HSSC chairman’s vacancy at a time when model code of conduct is in operation and no appointments can be made. Most political analysts believe the details were made public to send a clear message to the Ror community. Khattar faces a tough fight in Karnal Lok Sabha constituency against Congress’ Divyanshu Budhiraja and Ror community has an appreciable vote bank in the constituency.Not just BJP, other political parties are also focussing on caste-based groups while campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls. Budhiraja invited senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot to canvass on his behalf in Samalkha where the Gurjar community has significant presence. Sachin and his father late Rajesh Pilot are popular with the Gurjar community across the country.Given the scenario, it is not surprising that most political parties in Haryana have been focussing on holding meetings with caste or community-based groups to garner support in the polls instead of focussing on promising new projects/development works in the constituency.The focus on caste groups has been present for decades in Haryana, just like the other states, but initially it was mostly restricted to the Jat versus non-Jat factor during the elections. This factor was exploited under chief ministers like Bhagwat Dyal Sharma and Bhajan Lal. However, the caste-based divide was not apparent to this extent.The BJP govt in Haryana has organised various caste-community based state-level functions like Maharaja Shurasen Jayanti, Guru Daksh Prajapati Jayanti Samaroh, Vishwakarma Jayanti, Vibhajan Vibhishika Smriti Diwas and others to woo voters of Saini, Kumhar, Jangra and Punjabi (those migrated from Pakistan after Partition) communities. To woo votes of the Brahmin community, Khattar even approached the central government and released a postal stamp in the name of ‘Lord Parshuram,’ who is linked to the Brahmin community.In October 2023, Haryana leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda even suggested appointing four deputy CMs, including a Brahmin, a Scheduled Caste (SC), a woman, and an Other Backward Class (OBC) person, if Congress is voted to power in Haryana.The origin of the current caste-divide syndrome can be traced to February 2016 Jat violence in which around 30 people were killed after security forces fired on members of the Jat community who were demanding quota in govt jobs under OBC category.The incident also highlighted the failure of the then Manohar Lal Khattar-led government to handle the agitation. The state govt could not negotiate with the protesters after which the situation turned volatile. The committee constituted by Haryana under former DGP Prakash Singh also indicted several administrative and police officers for the failure of law-and-order machinery in the state during the Jat riots.The February 2016 violence left a deep impact, leading to more visible caste-based division among people of Haryana. Statements by various groups and prominent leaders, including those from ruling BJP, strained the existing ‘brotherhood’ in the state, leading to narratives like ‘Jat versus non-Jat’ or ’35-Biradari versus 1-Biradari’.Surprisingly, this 35-Biradari versus 1-Biradari narrative flourished in Haryana and the ruling BJP leaders were seen openly supporting it, leading to polarisation of non-Jat votes in favour of the saffron party.Haryana, for the first time, witnessed functions under banners of non-Jat community against Jat agitation and these were attended by the Khattar govt’s non-Jat ministers.Perhaps for the first time, people of one community were seen openly administering oaths for boycott of another community socially, financially, and economically, causing tension in the society. A BJP leader and former MLA Roshan Lal Arya was even booked by the police for polarising speeches. The BJP govt’s blind eye to hate speeches by its then Kurukshetra MP Raj Kumar Saini against the Jat community, had vitiated the atmosphere.Things were no better on the other side - one self-styled leader of a Jat organization even went to the extent of calling chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar a ‘Pakistani’, given his roots in the neighbouring country.
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