With Assembly elections in five states due early next year, the Congress is planning a nationwide outreach programme aimed at bringing Dalits and minorities onto a common platform through joint initiatives of the party’s Scheduled Castes (SC) and minority departments.

AICC Minority Department chairman and Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi told The Indian Express that the idea emerged from what the party sees as “large-scale oppression” of Dalits and minorities under the current dispensation. “The Dalit and minority communities have suffered the most and faced oppression on a large scale. Hence, we feel it is important to bring people from the two communities together and talk about their issues,” he said.

The first joint convention of the two departments is scheduled to be held in Delhi on June 6. According to party leaders, the event will bring together not only Congress functionaries from the two communities but also public intellectuals, civil society members, social activists and artists to deliberate on issues concerning Dalits and minorities.

After the Delhi event, similar conventions are planned across the country, with particular focus on poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur, where Assembly elections are expected in February-March next year.

“We will hold our first convention in Delhi on June 6, and after that similar conventions will be organised across the country. It is natural that two communities on the extreme margins of society will come together. Their problems are very similar,” Pratapgarhi said.

AICC Scheduled Caste Department chairman Rajendra Pal Gautam said the issues confronting both communities under BJP rule had common roots and therefore required similar solutions. “One community is facing oppression in the name of religion, while the other is facing oppression in the name of caste. Both communities are indigenous citizens of the country. Both communities have been denied opportunities in jobs and educational institutions,” he said.

According to Gautam, the conventions will focus on the economic and social conditions of the two communities and attempt to evolve a “roadmap” for addressing their concerns. “We will discuss the roadmap ahead while looking at solutions to these problems,” Gautam said.

Congress leaders associated with the SC Department said the party’s renewed emphasis on Dalits and Muslims was a “natural” political course, given that both communities have traditionally supported the Congress.

“The Dalits and Muslims have been traditional voters of the Congress party and we are working to consolidate support among these communities. These conventions will bring together intellectuals and leaders from both sections, and the first convention in Delhi will help shape the strategy for the poll-bound states,” said a leader from the department.

Political calculation

Party insiders said the outreach strategy was driven by electoral arithmetic in the five states, where Dalits and minorities together account for an estimated 35-40% of the population.

“If we can consolidate votes from these communities, we will be in a good position to form governments in these states,” said a leader of the party’s minority department. “In Uttar Pradesh, Dalits are looking for an alternative to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led by Mayawati. In Punjab too, the Congress will be in a strong position if Dalits and minorities vote together. Similar social equations exist in the other states as well,” the leader said.

Congress leaders believe the party’s “save the Constitution” campaign led by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi during the 2024 Lok Sabha election had found resonance among Dalits, especially in Uttar Pradesh, and contributed to the party’s improved performance nationally. The Congress won 99 Lok Sabha seats in 2024, while in Uttar Pradesh the Congress-Samajwadi Party (SP) alliance secured 43 of the state’s 80 seats. The BJP won 33 seats, down from 62 in 2019.

Party leaders argue that Dalit support played a key role in the Opposition alliance’s performance in the state.

Parallel plans

The proposed outreach comes amid a parallel effort by the Congress leadership to sharpen its messaging towards minority communities.

At a meeting of the advisory council of the party’s minority department on Saturday, Gandhi told minority leaders not to hesitate in raising issues concerning Muslims and minorities, sources said.

The advisory council comprises around 60 members, including senior leaders such as Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Salman Khurshid, Tariq Anwar, Gurdeep Sappal and Varsha Gaikwad.

According to sources present at the meeting, Gandhi said that if injustice was being done to a Muslim, leaders should raise their voice specifically as Muslims rather than use the broader terminology of “minority”.

He also reiterated that the Congress remained the only national alternative to the BJP and argued that regional parties lacked the capacity to defeat the ruling party in the long run.

Sources said Gandhi also expressed the view that the BJP-RSS narrative centred on Hindu-Muslim polarisation would weaken as economic distress deepened.

“He said that the fight in the future will be because of economic hardships faced by people and not because of the Hindu-Muslim divide. He believes the BJP’s politics of hatred will weaken as economic issues become more pressing,” said a source aware of the discussions.