Priyanka offers prayers at Ravidas temple in Varanasi

After the Muslim outreach programme after the anti-CAA violence in UP, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has embarked upon the Dalit outreach programme by visiting Sant Ravidas temple in Varanasi on Sunday. Priyanka’s visit to Ravidas temple is not only about temple and religion, as the Congress would like everyone to believe.

Priyanka had visited the families of Muslim victims killed in the violence during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Bijnor and other places in UP. The visit to Sant Ravidas temple has a definite Dalit outreach and Priyanka’s participation in the Guru Ravidas birth anniversary celebration at Seer Govardhanpur is a clear indication of it.

Guru Ravidas, a Dalit seer, poet-saint, social reformer and a spiritual figure who was a part of the Bhakti movement in the 15th and 16th centuries, is held in high esteem by the Dalit communities. The devotional songs of Ravidas have had a lasting impact during the Bhakti movement.

After arriving in Varanasi, Priyanka offered prayers at the Ravidas temple and met the seers. Speaking at a function in Varanasi on the occasion of Ravidas Jayanti, Priyanka urged the audience to take the teachings of the saint to the masses.

“He (Sant Ravidas) had dreamt of a society, where there is no discrimination and where every person is respected. You all should take forward his teachings to the masses, especially at a time, when there is so much violence and hatred in the society. His teachings are need of the hour,” Priyanka Gandhi said.

Before attending the function, the Congress leader offered prayers at the Guru Ravidas Janmasthan Mandir, and also participated in ‘langar’ (community lunch).

The Congress is apparently trying to win back Dalits in UP and regain lost ground. Dalits, along with Brahmins and Muslims, formed the core vote base of the Congress till the decline of the grand old party following the rise of Mandal and Mandir issues in UP politics in 1990.

The advent of the Mandal politics and the Ayodhya temple movement in the early 1990s turned the tide against the Congress. While Brahmins went with the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Muslims found refuge in the Samajwadi Party and Dalits opted for the Bahujan Samaj Party.

All these three parties were emerging on the political horizon of Uttar Pradesh and their growth was directly proportional to the decline of the Congress in the state. The Congress did not have a single Dalit leader of stature who could wield considerable influence on the community.

In 2009, it was Rahul Gandhi who started a Dalit outreach campaign in Uttar Pradesh when he started visiting the homes of Dalits, shared meals with them and even spent the night in their houses. The campaign, however, was not followed up by party workers who reduced the outreach to a mere photo opportunity.

After the drubbing in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has taken it upon herself to bring Dalits back into the party fold.

“Dalits are now completely disillusioned with the BSP which has only provided lip service to the community. Priyanka has already started making the right moves by visiting Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Ravan’ when he was hospitalised in Meerut and then demanding proper medical care for him in jail. The Bhim Army is proving to be BSP’s nemesis and if the Congress can strike a deal with it, the party will benefit,” said a senior party leader.

Last year, Priyanka was the first political leader to visit Sonbhadra where ten tribals were massacred after a land dispute. The Congress also provided financial assistance to the victims’ kin.