BJP ramps up outreach to non-Jatav Dalits ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly vote

In preparation for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party is targeting non-Jatav Dalit communities—Pasis, Khatiks, Dhobis and Valmikis—to reinforce its roughly 21% Dalit vote base. Party cadres will hold consultations, promote schemes such as housing, cooking-gas subsidies and the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana, and stress the “double-engine” central-state government’s welfare record.

Officials attribute the party’s dip in the 2024 Lok Sabha poll to opposition claims of a constitutional agenda, and note that Jatav voters remain aligned with the Bahujan Samaj Party. The Samajwadi Party has announced more Dalit seats and created the Ambedkar Vahini, while Chandrashekhar Azad’s Bhim Army plans to contest independently through the Azad Samaj Party. The BJP hopes the fragmented Dalit opposition will work to its advantage in the upcoming contest.