OBC outreach: Congress eyes OBC votes in Haryana, fields backward class leaders

JIND: In a bid to woo OBC voters in Haryana, the Congress party has fielded leaders from the backward classes . Historically, the OBC communities have been a stronghold and core voters of the BJP, which has dominated state politics for the past decade. To address these challenges, Surender Kumar , in charge of the OBC cell of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and cordinator for the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and linked to Haryana's Hisar district has launched an outreach campaign targeting the backward classes. He is forming teams at the district level to engage various social groups within the OBC communities.

Kumar, is confident of reversing this trend said "we've been focusing on OBCs for five years in Haryana, forming district-level teams to connect with various communities. People are tired of BJP's divisive politics and will support Congress in this election," he added.

Kumar criticised BJP's policies, accusing them of dividing society and pitting communities against each other for political gain. He vowed to expose BJP's strategies and unite all sections of society to form a Congress government in Haryana. "In Hisar, Sirsa, Bawani Khera, and surrounding districts, separate teams from the OBC communities have been formed. The impact of these teams was evident in the recent Lok Sabha elections as well," he said.

“I have been focusing on the OBC communities in Haryana for the past five years, forming district-level teams to begin this initiative. Due to the BJP's divisive policies, all communities are discontented. We are optimistic that the backward classes will support us in this election,” Kumar stated.

He emphasised the importance of exposing the BJP's strategies that divide communities for political gain, asserting that people are beginning to recognize these tactics and are rallying behind the Congress party, said Kumar.

Notably, the backward classes voters have leaned towards the BJP, particularly over the past decade, as the BJP has focused on non-Jat politics, successfully attracting this demographic. Currently, former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar was replaced by Nayab Saini an OBC face of state politics and other Jat leader and state president Om Prakash Dhankar was replaced by Mohan Lal Badoli, a Brahmin face, both are non-Jat leaders, solidifying BJP's hold over these votes.

However, the Congress party has been struggling to gain support from the backward classes which had been considered its core voters before 2014. In contrast, Congress, along with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Jananayak Janata Party (JJP), has emerged as a party dominated by Jat leaders . The JJP and INLD continue to maintain their identity as Jat-centric parties. Congress is banking and attempting to forge a coalition with Jat voters and a SC community to form a government. This has been compounded by the silence of Kumari Selja, a Congress MP and leader of the Dalit community from Sirsa, which has raised concerns within the party. Congress leader Kumari Selja has expressed displeasure over the party's ticket distribution for the Haryana Assembly elections, alleging that her key supporters have been overlooked. Her silence during pick time of election campaign has raised tension of Congress party as may lose support of SC community. Therefore, Congress is keen to secure a stronger foothold among the backward classes too, hoping to transform their grassroots efforts into electoral success, said a political expert.