Ahead of Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP will flag off the Sant Ravidas Samarasta Yatra on Tuesday with an aim to consolidate Dalit vote bank in the state.
The Madhya Pradesh has at least 14 percent Dalit votes.
The BJP’s move comes at a time when the Assembly elections are just four months away in the state.
The yatra is conducted in honour of the 14th-century poet-saint.
The reports said the yatra will be taken out from five districts - Singrauli, Dhar, Sheopur, Balaghat and Neemuch - and will travel through 46 of the state's 52 districts.
They added that the yatra will culminate in Sagar district's Badtuma on August 12, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the groundwork for the Rs 100-crore Sant Ravidas Temple.
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“Dalits make up 16 percent of the population in Madhya Pradesh and, of the state's 230 seats, 35 are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs). Most of these constituencies are in the Bundelkhand, Gwalior-Chambal and Vindhya regions,” the reports said.
In the 2013 elections - when the BJP won a total 165 seats - it swept 28, or 80%, of the 35 SC seats. The Congress managed to win only four, followed by the Bahujan Samaj Party, which won three. In 2018, however, the BJP won only 18 of the 35 reserved seats, while the Congress' share more than quadrupled to 17.
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When PM Modi travels to Madhya Pradesh for the foundation-laying ceremony, it will be his fifth visit to the poll-bound state in as many months.
The Sagar district in Bundelkhand, where the foundation ceremony of the temple will be held, has a Dalit population of 20-25%. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is also expected to address a mega rally in the district a day after the foundation stone is laid.
Organised by Madhya Pradesh government's Jan Abhiyan Parishad, the yatra will collect soil from 55,000 villages of the state, which will be used in the foundation and construction of the grand temple.
The yatra had been announced by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in February and chariots used for it will have the saint's photo, paduka (footwear) and kalash (pitcher). Slogans of social harmony will also be painted on the chariots' walls.
