Haryana Dalit voters face welfare scheme hurdles ahead of polls

In Haryana's upcoming Assembly election, Dalit voters who make up 21% of the electorate are being courted by both the BJP and the Congress. However, many of them say they are disillusioned by the very welfare schemes meant to help them. Gurdeep Lal, a Baazigar community member and registered construction worker, showed The Hindu a booklet listing 22 schemes but said he could not access any of them in nine years. He gave up trying for a bicycle scheme after multiple rounds and piles of paperwork. 'The poor get caught up in the paperwork. We get nothing,' he said.

The Parivaar Pechchaan Patra or Family ID, launched by former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, has also left many beneficiaries frustrated. Randhir Leelaram, 65, from the Chamar community, said he is always stuck chasing documents, whether electricity bills or the Family ID. He said the Congress at least did something for them, while the BJP has not heard their voices in ten years. Darshana, a domestic worker from the Valmiki community, said she will vote Congress because her husband got a state job under that party, but her son now lives on daily wages.

Winning reserved seats is crucial. In 2014, the BJP won nine of 17 reserved seats, in 2019, the Congress won seven. Congress insiders say based on this year's Lok Sabha results, the party could edge ahead in 11 of the 17 reserved seats. The BJP has attacked the Congress on its Dalit credentials, with PM Modi and Amit Shah labelling the party as anti-Dalit. The outcome may depend on which party convinces voters like Lal that they will not remain stuck chasing papers.