Chirag Paswan, leader of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), or LJP(RV), is intensifying efforts to win over Dalit voters who backed Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party in the 2024 general election, according to the Indian Express. The move forms part of a broader campaign to consolidate Dalit support behind the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the coalition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that governs India.

A rival coalition’s gains

The push comes after a setback for the NDA in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Samajwadi Party made significant inroads among Dalit voters there, contributing to its strong performance against the BJP. Analysts credit the party’s PDA strategy, short for Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak, meaning backward castes, Dalits and minorities, with expanding its traditional base of Yadav and Muslim voters to include Dalit communities.

Dalits, formerly known as “untouchables” under India’s caste system, form one of the country’s largest voting blocs and are officially classified as Scheduled Castes. Their political allegiance has long been contested between national and regional parties, making them a decisive factor in state and federal elections.

Rebuilding a family legacy

Chirag Paswan took over as LJP chief in November 2019 from his father, Ram Vilas Paswan, a former Union minister who spent decades building the party’s base among Dalit communities, particularly in the eastern state of Bihar. The party split in 2021, when Chirag’s uncle, Pashupati Kumar Paras, broke away along with five of the party’s six members of parliament to form a rival outfit, the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party.

Since then, Chirag Paswan has worked to reclaim the LJP’s political relevance and position it as the primary vehicle for Dalit representation within the NDA. His outreach specifically targets Scheduled Caste groups, including the Paswan (also known as Dusadh) sub-caste that formed his father’s core support base.

“Chirag is the real leader of LJP” — Lalu Prasad, RJD chief and former Bihar Chief Minister

The comment from Lalu Prasad, head of the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal and a veteran of Bihar politics, signals that Chirag Paswan’s legitimacy as his father’s political heir is recognised even outside the NDA, despite the RJD sitting on the opposing side of Bihar’s political divide.

Why it matters beyond India

The contest over Dalit votes illustrates a broader feature of Indian democracy, where caste-based identity often shapes party strategy as much as ideology or policy. For a coalition government relying on multiple regional and caste-based allies, retaining the loyalty of a bloc as large as India’s Dalit population, spread across states including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, carries direct consequences for the NDA’s parliamentary strength in future elections.

This article is free to read. It always will be — no paywall, no account, no tracking.