For BJP, caste equations go hand in hand with welfarism in Maharashtra

New Delhi: "The backwards made me what I am and I am the daughter of Gopinath Munde," said BJP leader Pankaja Munde while addressing a Dussehra rally in Maharashtra's Beed district, her hometown. She also called upon the backwards to show their strength. Around the same time, Union minister Kiren Rijiju was holding meetings with Buddhist Dalit community leaders in the state. The meetings signify BJP's ploy to consolidate and expand its standing among the backwards and Dalits in Maharashtra.

Munde shared the stage with her estranged cousin Dhananjay Munde after more than a decade in Beed, which was the epicentre of Maratha protests led by activist Manoj Jarange Patil.

While Pankaja Munde is seen as BJP's OBC face in Marathwada, the party has deployed Rijiju to make inroads among Buddhist Dalits, especially in Vidarbha region. Dalit Buddhists constitute over 50% of the total SC voters in the state. This segment has usually sided with Congress or Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi.


So far Rijiju has conducted over hundred meetings and met prominent leaders of the community in Maharashtra. BJP's broad game plan is to attach equal importance to caste and welfarism.