When Amit Shah forgot party's criticism of Rahul Gandhi

Even though the BJP criticises Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for his momentary display of love for the Dalits, the former too is doing exactly the same. With an eye on the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Punjab Assembly elections early in 2017, BJP president Amit Shah on May 30 had a meal with Girjaprasad Bind and Ikbal Bind's family, who belong to the Dalit community, in Jogiyapur village in Sevapuri Assembly segment. Jogiyapur falls under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi.

Suddenly, and of late, Shah has developed a special sense of bonding for the Dalits, who constitute 17 per cent of the population in UP. The BJP's vote share was 42 per cent in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls as against 15 per cent in the Assembly polls in 2012.

On May 11, the BJP president had taken a holy dip along with saints, retired bureaucrats and police officials, mostly from the Dalit community, as part of "Samrasta Snan (a holy bath for social harmony)" at Valmiki ghat of Kshipra river during Simhastha in Ujjain. This was followed by Shah felicitating the saints and having a community meal with them. With symbolism galore, Valmiki is identified with the Dalit author who had written the Ramayana and it is also a Dalit community in several parts of the country.

Dining with the Dalits came under spotlight for the first the time after Mayawati, a Dalit herself, was the Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Rahul Gandhi was attempting to poach her Scheduled Caste (SC) votebank. He would visit Dalit families, have meals with them and even spend a night at their place - be it the house of house of Chedi Pasi in Barabanki district in September 2009 or of Kunjilal in Jhansi district in October 2012.

While Mayawati fumed at Rahul's adventures, the BJP mocked him saying it did not believe in publicising visits of its leaders to the houses of Dalit families. "I do not look at (Bhimrao) Ambedkar in a political perspective. When I decided to have dinner at a Dalit household in Mhow (birthplace of the Dalit icon) during my visit to Indore for the party National Council, I put the condition that there would be no media presence, no photographers... We believe in achieving Ambedkar's dream of development for all not through speeches or by engaging in political drama but by accepting it as life's conviction," the then BJP president Nitin Gadkari (presently Union roads transport and highways minister) had said.

However, Shah is engaging in exactly what his predecessor had expressed his dislike for. On his way to Allahabad from the Varanasi Airport to address a rally, Shah made a small halt at Jogiyapur village in  Sevapuri Assembly segment of Varanasi parliamentary constituency to share the meal with a Dalit family.

But, as they say, politics is the art of possible. The BJP hopes to wean away the Dalit votes of the BSP to repeat 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP had won 71 of the 80 parliamentary seats in UP, while the BSP could not even open its account. It was obvious that the Mayawati's support base had shifted allegiance to the BJP.

Interestingly, on the one hand the BJP is aggressively wooing the Dalits, and on the other, Shah himself has declared that the Samajwadi Party (SP) will be the main challenger in UP. As the Akhilesh Yadav government is facing anti-incumbency, the BJP is trying to portray itself as the alternative to the ruling SP.

The BJP would also like to see a repeat of the polarisation of votes witnessed during the parliamentary elections in the aftermath of Muzaffarnagar communal riots. No wonder then, the party celebrated two years of Modi government in communally-sensitive Saharanpur on May 26.

As against Shah, Modi has been seen interacting with the Dalits on a regular basis, giving an impression that he is genuinely concerned about this socially backward and deprived section of the society.

On April 20, 2015, he laid the foundation stone of Dr Ambedkar International Centre at Janpath in the capital. On November 14, 2015, he inaugurated BR Ambedkar Memorial in London. The Maharashtra government is transforming the building where Ambedkar lived in London into an international memorial-cum-research centre. Parliament observed Constitution Day on November 26, 2015 during the Winter Session and a special discussion was held on Ambedkar.

On December 6, 2015, the Prime Minister released two commemorative coins, as part of the 125th birth anniversary year celebrations of Ambedkar. The coins, of "ten-rupee" and "one hundred and twenty-five rupee" denomination, were issued on the Mahaparinirvan Divas (death anniversary) of Babasaheb Ambedkar. On March 21, 2016, he laid the foundation stone for a memorial of Ambedkar in New Delhi, which will cover the important aspects of his life. Finally, on April 14, the birth anniversary of Ambedkar, Modi visited Mhow near Indore in Madhya Pradesh, the birthplace of Ambedkar.

In fact, the BJP is targeting both - the BSP and the SP. While trying to woo the Dalits, the BJP is also trying to polarise voters in the largest state.