Congress may use Mallikarjun Kharge to swing SC votes in Karnataka

Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge’s possible elevation as the party’s national president is expected to have a bearing on poll-bound Karnataka, where Dalits constitute about 24 per cent of the population across 101 caste groups.

Kharge, who will be the second Dalit to become Congress president after Jagjivan Ram if he wins, has been pitchforked into the contest after the leadership's bet on Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot backfired spectacularly.

Though pundits point out that the Karnataka connection to Kharge’s candidature is “only incidental”, there is no denying that the faction-ridden Congress would look to make the most of it by wooing Dalits for the upcoming Assembly polls.

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“Now that Kharge is likely to occupy the position of Congress president, the party will definitely leverage it in Karnataka - especially for the social coalition they're trying to build - by pointing out that a Dalit leader is holding the highest position,” psephologist Sandeep Shastri said.

Kharge has never projected himself as a Dalit leader. In fact, Kharge once lost his cool when asked about his chief ministerial prospects as he was a Dalit.

“He belongs to everybody,” Congress MLC Prakash Rathod, the Opposition Chief Whip in the upper house, said. “But, obviously, SCs will be happy when Kharge becomes the tallest leader in India.”

Rathod also said that Kharge as AICC president would send out a positive message. “It’d show that Congress is looking at Karnataka to get leadership at the national level. And, Karnataka has always paved the way for Congress’ revival,” he said.

Traditionally, SCs in Karnataka are seen as divided into two groups: Dalit Left and Dalit Right. Kharge belongs to the Dalit Right, and his victory could potentially give the Congress an opportunity to win over the Dalit Left, who have moved towards the BJP.

“Converting Kharge’s elevation as Congress president into electoral capital will take more effort,” political analyst A Narayana said. “While the SC Right is still with the Congress, the problem is with the SC Left. Will Kharge’s elevation attract the Left? That’s the question.”

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BJP's Kollegal MLA N Mahesh, a Dalit, said Kharge's choice for the Congress president's post was the party's "last-minute strategy" to consolidate SC votes. "They know that the SCs are getting scattered," he said.

There is also talk that Kharge's election as Congress president would make him a power centre in Karnataka, where the faction-ridden party is trying hard to show unity.

"Kharge is already a power centre," party spokesperson Ramesh Babu said, denying the notion that Kharge's elevation would be bad news for Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah. "Such is Kharge's loyalty and commitment that he never went against the party even when he lost out on opportunities."