agra: Lal Mirchi, Haldi, Dania. These are the three main ingredients Kusum Nigam uses in the sparse kitchen she built in the one-room house she lives with her husband and three daughters. At the end of a hard week working the leather into beautiful shapes that would eventually cover someone’s feet, when her husband brought home his wages, they would sometimes decide to buy some meat. Lal shop to buy some meat. She spent 10 rupees.
“We don’t need unnecessary condiments,” Jatav Nigam said with a self-deprecating laugh. “Food is to fill the stomach.” Sitting in an open space beside a drainage ditch running parallel to the railway line in Lohamandi, a group of Dalits In Agra, she says they’ve been eating this way for as long as she can remember. “Some of our changes have been slow to come. If it weren’t for behengiwe wouldn’t even have that many. Mayawati, central bank The Supreme Leader and her “sole leader” did not make much of an appearance in these elections or in previous ones. “This is not good for us.”
As Nigam spoke, several other women joined her. Some of them brought leather patches that they had sewn. Pushpa Jatav said she puts the finishing touches on about eight pairs of shoes every day and earns “Rs 6-7” per pair. Behind the scenes, their lives will take longer to improve. “We will vote for her this time too, but it will be in vain,” she added. The small gathering agreed without debate.
In Agra, the so-called Dalit capital, where 25-30% of the population is made up of various caste groups, many unapologetically long for Behenji, her strong, unabashed embodiment. Their hearts were broken and their morale was low as they saw the superstar fade. They say they will vote for her on May 7, but acknowledge that may not mean much.
“Koi margdarshak nahi hai aaj Dalit ka,” social activist Naresh Paras said at Nagala Ajeeta. “There is no one to lead this community today. Our idols and identities, we are all looking for,” he added.
Before Lohamandi, in a house where bricks protruded from a thin layer of grout that had been barely applied, the family’s faith in Mayawati had an accusatory edge. “Who will take care of us,” asked Mukesh, who did not use his second name. “Ghamand mein rehti hai (She is proud). She should allow Chandrasekhar (Azad Samaj Party) to join the BSP. We have no leader.”
Mukesh’s wife said most political parties skip slums after the elections. “They think we all voted for the elephant (BSP’s poll symbol). So, they didn’t come. No one from Behenji’s party came either. We are at a terrible crossroads.”
Realizing the BSP’s declining strength, as its vote share fell to 12.9% in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the BJP leaders are ready to go big and have been planning an aggressive Jatav outreach. But breaching the Dalit bastion will not be easy. Nearly one-third of the 2 million voters in the reserved constituency of Agra are registered voters, with around 300,000 Jatav voters and nearly 100,000 Valmiki voters. The rest is made up of other sub-castes.
Arun Rajoriya, a Valmiki resident in Thothakada who graduated from SR Degree College two years ago, said his family supported Mayawati in 2019. Using English words – “of course”, “yes”, “maybe” – he said he did not believe that a majority of Valmikis had chosen the BJP. “Bahut means rakhti hai humare liye abhi bhi (Mayawati is still important to us),” he said. “She is tired. Her party should welcome new faces like Azad.” He believed Mayawati’s political heir Akash Anand could achieve something but “there is still a long way to go” .
In Buddha Vihar, Akhil Bharatiya Bhikkhu Mahasangh president Bhante Anand is angry with the current Dalit leadership. “I don’t see a person of national stature,” he said. “It is time for Dalits to think seriously about who is really working for them.”
As Agra goes to polls in the coming days, the BJP will not lose any sleep over the lack of a savior for Dalits. In 2019, Union Minister SP Singh Baghel, who left the BSP in 2014, won with 2 lakh votes. Even though this time he is facing the SP candidate from the Jatav community – the BSP chose Puja Amrohi, also from the Jatav – Baghel reiterated that 2024 will be easier. “There’s no competition locally,” he said. The Muslim votes of around 200,000 will come into play, but the BJP leaders believe that Vaishyas, Brahmins, non-Yadav OBCs and “majority of Dalits” will bring benefits to them.
Jawahar Singh Jatav can accept this. “Let my vote drown in the water,” he said, pointing to a filthy pool. “I still support Behenji. I am sure we will have a new Dalit leader in 2029.”
“We don’t need unnecessary condiments,” Jatav Nigam said with a self-deprecating laugh. “Food is to fill the stomach.” Sitting in an open space beside a drainage ditch running parallel to the railway line in Lohamandi, a group of Dalits In Agra, she says they’ve been eating this way for as long as she can remember. “Some of our changes have been slow to come. If it weren’t for behengiwe wouldn’t even have that many. Mayawati, central bank The Supreme Leader and her “sole leader” did not make much of an appearance in these elections or in previous ones. “This is not good for us.”
As Nigam spoke, several other women joined her. Some of them brought leather patches that they had sewn. Pushpa Jatav said she puts the finishing touches on about eight pairs of shoes every day and earns “Rs 6-7” per pair. Behind the scenes, their lives will take longer to improve. “We will vote for her this time too, but it will be in vain,” she added. The small gathering agreed without debate.
In Agra, the so-called Dalit capital, where 25-30% of the population is made up of various caste groups, many unapologetically long for Behenji, her strong, unabashed embodiment. Their hearts were broken and their morale was low as they saw the superstar fade. They say they will vote for her on May 7, but acknowledge that may not mean much.
“Koi margdarshak nahi hai aaj Dalit ka,” social activist Naresh Paras said at Nagala Ajeeta. “There is no one to lead this community today. Our idols and identities, we are all looking for,” he added.
Before Lohamandi, in a house where bricks protruded from a thin layer of grout that had been barely applied, the family’s faith in Mayawati had an accusatory edge. “Who will take care of us,” asked Mukesh, who did not use his second name. “Ghamand mein rehti hai (She is proud). She should allow Chandrasekhar (Azad Samaj Party) to join the BSP. We have no leader.”
Mukesh’s wife said most political parties skip slums after the elections. “They think we all voted for the elephant (BSP’s poll symbol). So, they didn’t come. No one from Behenji’s party came either. We are at a terrible crossroads.”
Realizing the BSP’s declining strength, as its vote share fell to 12.9% in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the BJP leaders are ready to go big and have been planning an aggressive Jatav outreach. But breaching the Dalit bastion will not be easy. Nearly one-third of the 2 million voters in the reserved constituency of Agra are registered voters, with around 300,000 Jatav voters and nearly 100,000 Valmiki voters. The rest is made up of other sub-castes.
Arun Rajoriya, a Valmiki resident in Thothakada who graduated from SR Degree College two years ago, said his family supported Mayawati in 2019. Using English words – “of course”, “yes”, “maybe” – he said he did not believe that a majority of Valmikis had chosen the BJP. “Bahut means rakhti hai humare liye abhi bhi (Mayawati is still important to us),” he said. “She is tired. Her party should welcome new faces like Azad.” He believed Mayawati’s political heir Akash Anand could achieve something but “there is still a long way to go” .
In Buddha Vihar, Akhil Bharatiya Bhikkhu Mahasangh president Bhante Anand is angry with the current Dalit leadership. “I don’t see a person of national stature,” he said. “It is time for Dalits to think seriously about who is really working for them.”
As Agra goes to polls in the coming days, the BJP will not lose any sleep over the lack of a savior for Dalits. In 2019, Union Minister SP Singh Baghel, who left the BSP in 2014, won with 2 lakh votes. Even though this time he is facing the SP candidate from the Jatav community – the BSP chose Puja Amrohi, also from the Jatav – Baghel reiterated that 2024 will be easier. “There’s no competition locally,” he said. The Muslim votes of around 200,000 will come into play, but the BJP leaders believe that Vaishyas, Brahmins, non-Yadav OBCs and “majority of Dalits” will bring benefits to them.
Jawahar Singh Jatav can accept this. “Let my vote drown in the water,” he said, pointing to a filthy pool. “I still support Behenji. I am sure we will have a new Dalit leader in 2029.”
