After BJP leader and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma attacked the Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and called him a "madman", senior Congress leaders, besides condemning the remarks, also said the slur was not only against Kharge but also against the entire Dalit community he represents.
It was Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who wrote on his social media that Kharge is a senior and widely respected Dalit leader of the country, and that his experience, stature, and reputation are unparalleled. Insulting him is not just an attack on an individual, but an affront to crores of people belonging to the SC-ST communities in this country, Gandhi alleged.
Following this, many top leaders picked up the line and repeated the narrative. But can the Dalit card, just two days before the elections, have any impact on Assam politics?
In Assam, caste is seen to operate more subtly and is often interwoven with ethnicity, language, and identity politics. Therefore, from the start of the campaign, the BJP, seen as adept at weaving caste equations, has mostly focused on the Hindu community as a whole rather than micromanaging caste dynamics in the state.
Thus, Assam’s social arithmetic is more influenced by regional pride than caste, and political observers believe that since Kharge is from the southern region and not particularly popular in the state, the last-minute Dalit issue may not carry significant weight.
The state has around 7 per cent Dalit population, and most Dalit communities (categorised as Scheduled Castes or SC) in Assam are concentrated in Nagaon, Cachar, Morigaon and Kamrup districts. Each of these districts has around 10 per cent Dalit population. Following the 2023 delimitation exercise, there are nine reserved seats for Scheduled Castes in the 126-member Assam legislative assembly.
A political analyst in Assam said, “The Congress’s concerted remarks against Himanta as being anti-Dalit are just a regular political response to push him back and continue its national narrative that the BJP is anti-Dalit. It may not have much significance among the electorate.”
However, the standard of political campaigning in Assam is seen by observers to have escalated, with the BJP targeting the Congress aggressively after Himanta’s personal attacks on the Congress leadership created widespread buzz.
However, it was AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge who, while campaigning in Assam, reportedly likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a snake at an election rally in Gadag district, but later clarified that his remarks were aimed at the BJP and not the prime minister .
He said, “What I meant was BJP is like a poisonous snake. Even if someone tastes it, death is certain. These words were not meant for Mr. Modi. Personally, I don’t have any grudge against any individual,” he said.
Later in the day, Sarma responded by calling Kharge a "madman" (“pagal”) and said that “someone should take him to a mental hospital.”
The screening committee chairman, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, also called the remarks by Himanta "utterly shameful and unacceptable."
