Raichur/Yadgiri/Kalaburagi: On the Sundar Nagar slum in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi, human faeces lie on the streets, open drains stink up the neighbourhood and water provide comes as soon as in 5 days, for an hour.
Residents of the Scheduled Caste (SC)-dominated slum have rather a lot to complain about, however lack of civic facilities doesn’t appear to be a swing issue with regards to their voting preferences within the state’s 10 Might meeting polls.
Muralidhar Upadhyay, a resident of Sundar Nagar, instructed ThePrint that the Congress has at all times ignored the SC-Left, however the BJP has undertaken growth work within the areas dominated by the sub-caste, which is taken into account by specialists as among the many most oppressed traditionally. Sundar Nagar is primarily occupied by the SC-Left, which has historically been inclined in direction of the BJP.
“These roads that you just see right here have been widened by the BJP. For 40 years, the Congress and (occasion president) Mallikarjun Kharge didn’t take note of us. Now, earlier than the elections, they’re attempting to woo us. Why ought to we vote for them?” Upadhyay requested.
This will likely come as a disappointment to the Congress, which hoped to get political dividends from the appointment of Kharge, a Dalit from Kalaburagi, because the occasion’s nationwide president final 12 months.
Kharge is from the Holeya group (SC-Proper), thought of to have considerably higher privileges in comparison with SC-Left). The opposition occasion is anticipating the Kharge issue to chop ice with roughly 40 per cent of the Dalit inhabitants of the state who determine themselves as ‘SC-Left’, in keeping with group specialists.
The SC group in Karnataka is divided into 4 teams — ‘Proper’, ‘Left’, ‘touchables’ and ‘others’.
Advocate S. Mareppa, a resident of Raichur and member of the SC-Left sub-category, claimed that the classification got here from an eighth century incident in Tamil Nadu. “A temple run by goldsmiths (generally known as acharis) was attacked by Brahmins who needed to seize it. On the time, to curry favour, among the untouchables supported the Brahmins. Others supported the goldsmiths. Those that went with the Brahmins got here to be generally known as the ‘Proper’, whereas those that stood with the goldsmiths got here to be generally known as the ‘Left’. Primarily, the ‘Left’ have been the revolutionary sub-caste,” he stated.
Dasanur Kusanna, an knowledgeable on caste points from the Institute of Social and Financial Change (ISEC), however, instructed ThePrint that ‘Left’ and ‘Proper’ have been “occupational classifications”.
“The precise hand facet consists of all communities associated to land-based occupations whereas the left is non-land primarily based and have been in professions similar to portray, leather-based work, scavenging and others, which turned the explanation why they have been extra oppressed and denied entry or entry to most public areas utilized by different caste Hindus,” Kusanna defined.
“Slowly, the inflexible casteism and social limitations pressured them to reside in watertight compartments. So, they by no means inter-dined with some other,” he added.
In keeping with James Manor, a political scientist and Emeritus Professor of Commonwealth Research on the College of London, many caste teams don’t determine themselves with both the ‘Left’ or ‘Proper’ however might cling on to a way of caste solidarity.
“In Karnataka, they aren’t as conflict-prone, not as bitter as the same divisions between proper and left-hand Dalits in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. There the division is totally conflictual, whereas in Karnataka the division is much less bitter,” Manor instructed ThePrint.
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Congress bid to consolidate SC-Proper in Hyderabad-Karnataka area
Within the Hyderabad-Karnataka or the Kalyana Karnataka area, thought of one of many poorest within the nation, the Congress is looking for to consolidate its vote-bank of SC-Proper and ‘others’. It hasn’t given a single ticket to any SC-Left candidate within the area.
There are 41 meeting seats within the area, of which the Congress received 21 and the BJP 15 within the 2018 election.
A functionary of the Karnataka Congress instructed ThePrint that there are broadly two elements to the Congress technique so far as the SC group within the Hyderabad Karnataka area is anxious.
The primary side is that of caste calculation, whereas the second offers with ensures within the occasion manifesto.
“In the whole Kalyana Karnataka belt, now we have not given even one seat (ticket) to the SC-Left. We’ve got given extra seats to the Bhovis and Banjaras (touchables). The variety of seats for the SC-Proper is similar as final time,” stated the functionary.
“Often, we give the ticket for Gulbarga Rural seat to the SC-Left group however this time it has been given to a Banjara. One other seat in Raichur for which the ticket is normally given to the SC-Left has been given to the Bhovi group. We’re focussing on votes that can shift en masse,” added the functionary.
To woo the SC-Left, the Congress has promised to fulfil one of many group’s largest calls for in its manifesto — tabling of the Sadashiva Fee report within the first session of the Karnataka meeting if the occasion involves energy on this 12 months’s election.
The Justice A.J. Sadashiva Fee had submitted a report in 2012 to the Sadananda Gowda-led Karnataka authorities, recommending inside reservation for communities among the many SCs.
To supply illustration to the SC-Left inside the occasion, the Congress appointed B.N. Chandrappa, an SC-Left chief, as working president within the state in April.
Congress MP and Karnataka chief Naseer Hussain instructed ThePrint: “There must be social justice for all teams. How can we get them affirmative motion? How can we see that each caste is represented in growth and progress? For that we have to have separate methods.”
The Congress’ technique isn’t misplaced on the SC-Left.
“Out of 41 meeting seats within the Kalyana Karnataka area, (ticket for) not one has been given to the SC-Left by the Congress. Greater than 18 (of 36 reserved SC) seats Karnataka-wide have been given to the SC-Proper. Greater than 10 seats have been given to the SC touchables. Tickets for under 9 seats have been given to the SC-Left by the occasion,” advocate Mareppa, quoted earlier, identified.
He stated that for the SC-Left group, there was no various to the BJP. “If we depart the BJP, the place will we go?” he requested. “I don’t just like the native BJP candidate right here. However my vote for the BJP is due to the event PM Narendra Modi has promised.”
SC-Left and BJP’s reservation gambit
Shahid Patil is likely one of the only a few residents of SC-Left-dominated Sundar Nagar who appear inclined in direction of the Congress.
“They (BJP-led authorities in Karnataka) have proposed to extend reservation to six per cent for the SC (Left) however inside that, the Alemaris (a sub-caste) have been granted 2 per cent reservation. This implies we’re left with 4 per cent,” Patil stated.
In October 2022, the Basavaraj Bommai-led Karnataka cupboard beneficial reservation inside reservation of 6 per cent for the SC-Left, 5.5 per cent for the SC-Proper, 4.5 per cent for ‘touchables’ and 1 per cent for ‘others’.
However not lots of Patil’s fellow SC-Left members are swayed by the reservation difficulty.
In Raichur’s Harijanawada, an SC-dominated locality, Govind, a Madiga (SC-Left), instructed ThePrint: “Whereas the Congress has given us 9 seats, the BJP has given us 11, simply two extra. Finally, I feel our group might want to kind its personal occasion just like the Bahujan Samaj Get together (in Uttar Pradesh). It looks as if nobody is keen to battle for us,” he added.
There’s a sense of despondency concerning the state of affairs though they’re clinging to hope that it could change.
One other resident of the locality, Narsimhran, a Madiga, stated he would vote for the BJP, similar to he did twice earlier than.
“Greater than anybody else, we belief Modiji. The BJP has many leaders from our group so I imagine they are going to work for us. I want our issues of water and drainage will likely be solved. It’s been 40 years and this space doesn’t have water,” he identified.
His good friend, Tayyappa, additionally a Madiga, added that the caste push by all events was solely an “election gimmick”.
“Earlier than the elections, everybody thinks concerning the Madigas, however once they’re in energy, no occasion helps us. For instance, the housing board right here hasn’t handed a mortgage in 5 years. There aren’t any washrooms in our homes. Those that do don’t have correct drainage. Everybody, together with our ladies, has to go to the fields to alleviate themselves. No matter which occasion involves energy, I hope this adjustments,” he rued.
It’s this disillusioned part of the SC-Left that the Congress is pinning its hopes on.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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