'Dalit Khatre Mein Hain': Why Congress Is Turning Kharge's Uttarakhand Row Into A Bigger Narrative

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'Dalit Khatre Mein Hain': Why Congress Is Turning Kharge's Uttarakhand Row Into A Bigger Narrative

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Last Updated: September 01, 2026, 14:37 IST

Rahul Gandhi’s calculation appears to be that the Congress’s ‘Samvidhan khatre mein hai’ narrative worked in the 2024 LS elections and the Dalit row could get it more gains

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There is more to the Congress’s strategy than simply backing Mallikarjun Kharge. (AFP)

It has been over 15 days since the Monsoon Session ended. On the last day of the session, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge launched a high-decibel attack on the BJP government in Uttarakhand, alleging that the state BJP unit had carried out a ‘shuddhikaran’, or cleansing ceremony, after his rally in Haldwani. Kharge alleged that the ceremony was conducted because he is a Dalit.

The Congress was more or less silent on the issue after that, although Sonia Gandhi accompanied Kharge to meet the Rajya Sabha Chairman and formally complain about the incident.

A few days later, at a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, Kharge reportedly pointed out that not many leaders in his own party had bothered to take up the issue. A week after that observation, Rahul Gandhi held a press conference, and the Congress has since gone into overdrive over the issue.

But there is more to the Congress’s strategy than simply backing Kharge. The party is looking at the upcoming Uttar Pradesh and Punjab elections, and, more importantly, the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

Dalits account for around 16 per cent of India’s population. In Uttar Pradesh, their share is around 20 per cent, while in Punjab, the Scheduled Caste population is around 32 per cent.

Rahul Gandhi’s calculation appears to be that the Congress’s “Samvidhan khatre mein hai" narrative worked in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The slogan helped the party and its allies consolidate sections of the Dalit vote and contributed to the BJP falling short of a simple majority.

The Congress may now be looking to replicate that strategy by turning the Uttarakhand incident into a larger political narrative—essentially “Dalit khatre mein hain"—ahead of the upcoming state elections and eventually the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.

But there is a significant challenge: the Dalit vote is fiercely contested. The BSP remains an important player, while Chandrashekhar Azad’s party has also emerged as a force seeking to occupy the Dalit political space.

The BJP, too, has its own counter-narrative. Its outreach emphasises that Dalits should not be viewed merely as a vote bank and that the benefits of Union government schemes are reaching them directly.

Punjab also offers a cautionary example for the Congress. Despite projecting Charanjit Singh Channi, a Dalit leader, as its chief ministerial face in the 2022 assembly elections, the move did not translate into a Congress victory.

For the Congress, therefore, “Dalit khatre mein hain" is a potentially powerful political slogan. Kharge is the immediate peg around which the narrative is being built. The larger objective, however, appears to be the consolidation of the Dalit vote—first in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, and eventually with an eye on 2029.

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Quick Answers Powered by Ask News18 How will the "Dalit khatre mein hain" narrative impact upcoming elections? The "Dalit khatre mein hain" narrative is intended to help the Congress party and its allies consolidate Dalit votes in upcoming state elections and the 2029 Lok Sabha polls. This strategy aims to replicate the success of their previous campaign, which contributed to the BJP failing to secure a simple majority. However, the narrative faces a significant challenge because the Dalit vote is highly contested, and the BJP has developed its own counter-narrative. Could this strategy help Congress consolidate the Dalit vote in 2029? The strategy of building a narrative around the Uttarakhand incident is a potentially powerful political slogan that could help Congress consolidate the Dalit vote for the 2029 Lok Sabha polls. However, the party faces a significant challenge because the Dalit vote is fiercely contested. A similar past attempt to win over these voters by projecting a Dalit leader as a chief ministerial face in the 2022 Punjab assembly elections did not lead to a Congress victory. What challenges does Congress face in winning over Dalit voters? Congress faces a significant challenge because the Dalit vote is fiercely contested by multiple political parties. Past attempts to win over this electorate have not always succeeded; for instance, projecting a Dalit leader as its chief ministerial face in the 2022 Punjab assembly elections did not lead to a victory for the party. Additionally, decades of past neglect and indifference by Congress towards Dalit issues caused the community to drift away from the party. Powered by Ask News18

About the Author Pallavi Ghosh Pallavi Ghosh has covered politics and Parliament for 15 years, and has reported extensively on Congress, UPA-I and UPA-II, and has now included the Finance Ministry and Niti Aayog in her reportage. S... Read More

First Published: September 01, 2026, 14:36 IST

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