As the country observes the 53rd death anniversary of Dalit icon Babasaheb Ambedkar on December 6, the outcome of the recent Lok Sabha and legislative assembly elections has signalled the beginning of the end of the brand of politics followed by Ambedkarites in his home state of Maharashtra.
For the first time since the state was formed, the Congress-NCP chose not to ally — they didn’t need to — without any of the major Dalit factions, divided into the dozen-odd splinter groups of the Republican Party of India (RPI). The election results have pushed the likes of Ramdas Athawale into political wilderness. He had formed a state-wide “third front” after losing the Shirdi Lok Sabha seat for the assembly polls, but his party drew a blank despite contesting 106 seats.
The Congress-NCP trick in the assembly polls was to eliminate the need for RPI leaders, who used to act as middlemen in harnessing the Dalit vote. Ruling parties approached the voters directly and “convinced” them to vote for them. Athawale’s candidates could neither mobilise resources nor the fighting spirit among Dalits resulting in the defeat of leaders like noted poet and founder of Dalit Panthers, Namdeo Dhasal.