The fire of Dalit anger against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may have torched Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel's career and reduced the party's prospects in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to ashes, but it has ignited AAP's hopes of becoming the political home for India’s oppressed castes.
Just three months ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was attempting to appropriate Babasaheb Ambedkar with a powerful speech on the Dalit icon's 125th birth anniversary.
But this effort came undone recently with the demolition of Ambedkar Bhavan in Mumbai, the flogging of Dalit men by cow protectors in Gujarat and the slur on four-time Uttar Pradesh CM and Dalit powerhouse Mayawati by a BJP leader.
All this has opened a door for AAP and Arvind Kejriwal intends to walk right in.
He has also taken a swipe at Modi, suggesting that the PM's Independence Day address focus on "Dalit atrocities, Gau Rakshaks, Kashmir, Akhlaq, Farmer suicides, Dal price."
"People are dying to hear you on these," he added, for good measure.
In Punjab, due to go the polls early next year, Dalits constitute a third of the state's population, and AAP will woo them with a 'Dalit manifesto' , likely in September. The manifesto will be built after a series of ‘Dalit Dialogues’.
One of the AAP men in charge of Punjab, Durgesh Pathak said: "They use the name of Dalits to divide, we will use it unite people. Their issues are different. We have to accept that they are victims of injustice and have suffered systemic exploitation."
Political analyst Badri Narayan said, "AAP is going to develop the Bhangis (manual scavengers) as a base vote of the Dalits, with the Chamars as a ‘stepney’ vote. That may create problems for both the Akalis and the Congress."
AAP's challenge is to unite the Dalit vote in Punjab, something even Mayawati’s mentor Kanshi Ram could not achieve.
As for Modi's den and Hindutva crucible Gujarat, AAP plans a mega rally on October 6 in Surat, at which Kejriwal will speak and probably launch his campaign for the state.
AAP doing well in Gujarat -- and there’s every sign it will -- would be a blow to BJP's pride.
AAP's engagement with Dalits is nothing new. In fact the party’s broom or jhadoo symbol was launched amid the Valmiki community in central Delhi.
AAP leader Ashish Talwar used numbers to illustrate AAP's hold on the Dalits: "In 2013 we won 75% of the seats in reserved constituencies compared to 35% of general seats. In 2015 we won 100% of reserved seats."
"Dalits found new hope in Kejriwal, and the bonding seen in Delhi is seen in other states like Punjab and Gujarat," he said.
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