Elections 2019: BJP Drops Nearly 50% Sitting MPs from SC/ST Communities

In the run up to the Lok Sabha elections, Bharatiya Janata Party has so far announced 374 candidates and is expected to announce the candidates for the remaining 26 seats soon. The saffron party is contesting in 400 seats and has given rest of the seats to its allies. A summary look at the candidate list of the saffron party suggests that it has declined tickets to almost 50% sitting members of parliament hailing from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

This massive pruning comes as a surprise given the fact that dalit and tribal MPs consisted a significant part of its total strength (282) in the Lok Sabha. In 2014, the party had won 71 reserved seats including 40 SC and 31 ST constituencies. Riding on the Modi wave, the party won 40 seats out of 84 seats reserved for SC community. Similarly, it won 27 seats out 41 seats reserved for ST candidates. By giving a wide berth to such candidates now, the party is expecting to reverse the anti-incumbency which cost it heavily in the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

This was evident in Uttar Pradesh where it denied tickets to eight sitting dalit MPs. Similar experiment was also witnessed in Chattisgarh where it introduced entirely new faces in 10 Lok Sabha seats. Out of the 10 sitting MPs dropped from Chhattisgarh, four belong to ST and one to SC communities. In neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, the party has dropped five sitting MPs, of which two each are from ST and SC communities.

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The trouble for BJP with dalits started soon after several leaders including Anant Hegde proposed changes in the basic structure of the constitution. The dilution of SC/ST Act followed by violence across the country only alienated the dalit lawmakers from the party. One such MP Anshul Verma, from Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh who resigned in March, hints at the growing discontent among the party’s sitting dalit lawmakers over its conduct in last five years which has resulted in defection to other parties. Talking to NewsClick, Verma said, “The government has not released the National Crime Records Bureau data for the last three years. Is it hesitant because atrocities against dalits are only growing?” He also complained that the new agenda is indefensible and no sane person can campaign on it.

Senior journalist Anil Chamadia points out that the massive pruning is completely in line with the saffron agenda of polarisation of upper caste voters. He said, “The first reason to my understanding appears to be reversal of anti-incumbency. The BJP was defeated badly in Assembly elections in Chattisgarh last year. That's why they have changed all candidates in the state. Second, the dilution of SC/ST Act made dalit MPs vocal who raised scathing questions over its poor defence in the Supreme Court. The following incidents of violence during Bharat Bandh last year only made them disillusioned. Repeating sitting dalit MPs would have only brought more tension for them. Third, BJP brought in 10% reservation to consolidate its upper caste base. The presence of these vocal MPs would have only resulted in clash and unrest."

He further said, "There are ample examples where BJP has applied this formula to minimise discontent. With the new candidates, the party is trying to portray that the problems could not be resolved due to individual MPs. However, the real reason behind the dropping of these MPs is the party’s ideology.”

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