Why BJP is planning a Sant Ravidas outreach before 2027 UP polls

For the BJP, a broad cultural push focused on Sant Ravidas can help build bridges across the numerous communities making up the Dalit bloc in Uttar PradeshWith the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections approaching, the BJP has launched perhaps its most extensive outreach in recent years to Dalit followers of Sant Ravidas. The party has announced a seven-month-long nationwide campaign, the Shri Guru Ravidas Maharaj Samrasta Sankalp Abhiyan, from July 29 to February 20 next year, marking the 650th birth anniversary of the 15th century saint-poet.The campaign will begin from Seer Govardhanpur in Varanasi, the birthplace of Sant Ravidas, with ceremonies on July 28-29. BJP leaders from around the country will gather there to collect ‘sacred soil’ in 131 urns. Of these, 104 urns will be taken to villages across Uttar Pradesh while 27 will travel to other states.The BJP says the campaign is aimed at promoting samrasta, or social harmony, through temple events, saint congregations, processions, bhajan programmes and outreach to religious leaders.The political significance, however, lies in the timing. Uttar Pradesh is heading into a high-stakes election, and Dalit voters remain one of the most important electoral blocs in the state. Scheduled Castes make up roughly 21 per cent of Uttar Pradesh’s population, but they are not a uniform group. Jatavs, Pasis, Valmikis, Gonds, Dhanuks and Khatiks have different social and political alignments. The BJP’s calculation appears to be that a broad cultural outreach centred around Sant Ravidas can help it build bridges across these communities. The move is also being seen as an attempt to counter the Samajwadi Party’s PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) narrative, which seeks to consolidate OBCs, Dalits and minorities against the BJP. After the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP’s tally in Uttar Pradesh fell from 62 seats in 2019 to 33, the party has become increasingly conscious of caste-based mobilisation. The SP has been trying to present itself as the principal political platform for backward classes and Dalits.Another factor is the weakening organisational position of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). For decades, the BSP was seen as the natural political home of a large section of Dalit voters, particularly Jatavs. But with the party’s electoral influence declining, other parties have sensed an opening. The BJP has been expanding representation of non-Jatav Dalit communities in local bodies, government schemes and ministerial appointments. The Ravidas campaign adds a cultural and religious layer to that strategy.Few figures command the kind of respect Sant Ravidas enjoys among Dalit communities, particularly in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. His teachings on equality, social justice and spiritual devotion continue to influence millions of followers across northern India. By placing Sant Ravidas at the centre of a nationwide campaign, the BJP appears to be attempting to deepen its engagement with communities that have traditionally been viewed as part of the BSP's social base.The programme has been designed on a scale rarely seen before. BJP delegates from 98 organisational districts and six regional divisions in Uttar Pradesh, along with representatives from 27 other states, will carry the soil from Varanasi to temples and local gatherings. A major highlight will be the Samrasta Yatra from Jalandhar in Punjab to Varanasi, scheduled from October 5 to November 5, with planned halts in towns and villages, particularly Dalit-dominated localities.Punjab is another important piece of the strategy. Dalits constitute nearly 32 per cent of Punjab’s population, and the BJP failed to win any of the state’s 34 reserved assembly seats in 2022. By linking Varanasi, the birthplace of Sant Ravidas, with Jalandhar, a major centre of Ravidasia followers, the party appears to be trying to create a wider emotional and cultural connection beyond Uttar Pradesh.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly highlighted Sant Ravidas in recent years. Before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he visited Seer Govardhanpur, unveiled a statue of the saint and laid the foundation stone for a Sant Ravidas museum. The new campaign expands it into a sustained organisational exercise lasting months.BJP leaders insist the campaign is a social and spiritual initiative, not an election programme. Yet political observers note that such a long and carefully structured mobilisation, ending just weeks before the expected election season in Uttar Pradesh, is difficult to separate entirely from electoral calculations.For the BJP, the challenge after the 2024 setback is not merely to retain its traditional support base in Uttar Pradesh but prevent the SP’s PDA coalition from becoming the dominant social alliance in the state. The Sant Ravidas outreach appears to be part of that larger effort by using cultural symbolism, religious identity and grassroots mobilisation to reconnect with Dalit voters before the battle for 2027 fully begins.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsPublished By: Shyam BalasubramanianPublished On: Jul 29, 2026 20:11 IST