Now Reading: Haryana’s Dalit voters demand welfare, not election promises
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Haryana’s Dalit voters demand welfare, not election promises
With 21% of Haryana’s electorate belonging to Scheduled Caste communities, the BJP and Congress are competing for Dalit support before the Assembly election. Yet voters interviewed by The Hindu describe welfare schemes…
The Story in Brief
With 21% of Haryana’s electorate belonging to Scheduled Caste communities, the BJP and Congress are competing for Dalit support before the Assembly election. Yet voters interviewed by The Hindu describe welfare schemes that remain difficult to access because of paperwork, including the Family ID and benefits for registered construction workers.
The 17 reserved constituencies could shape the result. The BJP won nine of them in 2014, while the Congress won seven in 2019. Congress insiders project an advantage in 11 seats based on its Lok Sabha performance, though that is only an estimate. Voters also point to high electricity bills, rising food prices and weak wages as immediate concerns.
The Indian Opinion
The lazy story is that Dalit voters can be secured through speeches, caste arithmetic or promises printed in booklets. The accounts reported here suggest a simpler test: can eligible workers actually receive benefits without repeated visits and lost wages? Parties should publish scheme-wise disposal data and explain the rejected applications. In the reserved seats, delivery records may matter more than campaign claims. Will the winning party make access easier within its first year?
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
