The BJP is aggressively pursuing the Dalit narrative in the wake of the Bengaluru riots, in what is seen as an attempt to further consolidate its Scheduled Caste vote base.
Ever since the incident, BJP leaders have attacked the Congress by raking up the electoral defeats of Congress leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge and G Parameshwara — both Dalits — and have trained their guns on Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah to further weaken his influence on the Ahinda vote.
The BJP is also keeping an eye on the upcoming BBMP elections, say political analysts.
Congress' Pulakeshinagar MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy, a Dalit, was targeted in the riots, and the BJP is going to town, saying that it was a Dalit MLA who came under attack.
BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh tweeted with the 'CongressAgainstDalits' hashtag, alleging that the Congress "will not condemn riots. Will not condemn attack on its own Dalit MLA house. Will not condemn the desecration of the Adi Shankaracharya statue in Sringeri".
"There is no doubt that the BBMP elections could also have been a factor (for the riot). Along with factors such as that it was premeditated, a large number of people assembled in a short span of time," analyst Sandeep Shastri said.
"The saddest thing is that each party is trying to reap political dividend out of something that they should have tried to curb. Our efforts should be to establish communal peace in the area," he said.
Muzaffar Assadi, professor of political science, University of Mysore, said parties were quick to convert the incident into a political issue.
"It is clear that after the incident, the Congress will lose some of its base in the constituency," he said.
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