Row over Ambedkar video: How BJP is demolishing Opposition’s ‘anti-Dalit’ offensive – in Bihar and beyond

Ahead of the Bihar polls, the state unit of the BJP has decided to go all out to woo Dalits.

Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has landed in the eye of a political storm after the BJP recently posted a video purportedly showing a portrait of Dr B R Ambedkar placed at the RJD chief’s feet.

On Yadav’s birthday, a follower gifted him with a portrait of Ambedkar, which he seemingly did not acknowledge. The video shows the former chief minister of Bihar stretching his legs while the portrait is placed on the chair even as he continues to pose for photographs.

Ahead of the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, the incident triggered widespread outrage across the political spectrum and among Dalit rights activists. BJP has accused the RJD of consistently disrespecting Ambedkar and Dalit sentiments.

Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, deputy CM Samrat Choudhary and JD(U) state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha also demanded a formal apology from Lalu and the RJD for "insulting" Ambedkar.

Why has it become an issue?

Ambedkar is revered by many backward communities in Bihar. According to a 2022 caste-based survey, Scheduled Castes (SC) make up 19.65 per cent and Scheduled Tribes (ST) constitute 1.68 per cent of the state’s population. It is felt that this incident may have angered a considerable part of Bihar’s population. Out of 243 assembly seats in Bihar, 38 seats are reserved for Dalits.

Does it help BJP’s poll prospects in Bihar?

In its renewed Dalit pitch, the NDA-JD(U) government led by Nitish Kumar has already set aside Rs 1,935 crore for the SC/ST Welfare Department, which includes Rs 550 for the Mahadalit Vikas Mission Scheme, in its budget for 2025-26.

The state has a history of Dalit politics that propelled many prominent leaders.  Bihar had three Dalit CMs: Bhola Paswan Shastri, Ram Sunder Das, and Jitan Ram Manjhi.

The NDA  already has two Dalit-centric parties in its fold: LJP (Ram Vilas) led by Chirag Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s party Hindustani Awam Morcha. These leaders hail from families which always held sway among Dalit voters.

The LJP already has a strong presence among the Paswans/Dusadhs, the largest subgroup within the SC and accounting for 5.3 per cent of Bihar’s total population. Paswan has been reaching out to Dalit communities by holding a series of public meetings. Similarly, Manjhi has a strong influence over Musahar voters, constituting over 3 per cent of the state’s population.

So, the BJP’s maneuvering – largely through its allies – has ensured it gets its larger social engineering right, an immediate advantage appears unlikely. Add to that the deeply entrenched element of caste in voting patterns in the state, any damage to the RJD, which draws its strength from a solid Muslim-Yadav support base, from the recent row appears far-fetched.

Yet, the BJP’s positioning of the entire controversy will dent the Opposition’s pitch of the ruling party at the Centre being “anti-Dalit”, especially when the Parliament’s Monsoon Session gets underway.

The Big Picture

Dramatic scenes played out in Parliament’s Winter Session last year as both the BJP and the Opposition took out protest marches amid a massive row over Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on Dalit icon BR Ambedkar.

Congress led the attack with a clip from Shah's Rajya Sabha speech, in which he had said, "Abhi ek fashion ho gaya hai - Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. Itna naam agar bhagwan ka lete to saat janmon tak swarg mil jata (It has become a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar'. If they had taken God's name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven)."

While the BJP brass, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, batted for Shah, the Gandhi siblings dressed in blue, symbolising Dalit resistance, along with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Opposition MPs marched with photographs of BR Ambedkar, repeatedly terming the BJP “anti-Dalit”.

Ahead of the Bihar polls, the state unit of the BJP has decided to go all out to woo Dalits, even before seat-sharing begin among the NDA constituents. The BJP can use the Lalu-Ambedkar row to counter the INDIA bloc’s allegation. The INDIA bloc includes the RJD, Congress and Left parties.

Fanning Prashant Kishor’s narrative

By attacking the RJD on the Ambedkar issue repeatedly, the BJP is probably giving steam to former poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s claim that the Congress has subordinated itself to the RJD in Bihar.
Kishor, whose fledgling outfit Jan Suraaj Party seeks to make a significant impact in the Bihar elections, said, “The Congress has reduced itself to a sidekick of the RJD in Bihar. Earlier, the state Congress was beholden to Lalu Prasad, now it is the turn of (younger son and heir apparent) Tejashwi Yadav”.

By continuing to protest against Lalu’s action, the BJP is probably aiming to position itself as a “pro-Dalit” party nationally, thereby countering the Congress allegations.

Starting June 20, the party will target the Ravidas community by organising the Sant Shiromani Ravidas Sammelan-cum-honour ceremony in Bihar, according to New18. Sant Ravidas, a 15th-century Bhakti saint, is a significant figure in the Dalit community and is widely recognised as a Dalit icon.