BJP plans week-long Ravidas Jayanti celebration

New Delhi, Jan 28 (IANS) With eye on Dalit votes in the assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has planned a week-long celebration of Guru Ravidas Jayanti.

The BJP SC Morcha will celebrate the Ravidas Jayanti (birth anniversary) from February 13 to 20, and hold programmes at block levels in the poll-bound states.

Schedule Castes (SC) comprise around 32 per cent of the Punjab population, the highest among all states in the country, and around 21 per cent of Uttar Pradesh's total population.

They play a crucial and decisive role in Punjab and their support is also important for the political parties in Uttar Pradesh.

BJP SC Morcha national president Lal Singh Arya told IANS that the party workers will celebrate Ravidas Jayanti across the country from February 13 to 20.

"In northern states, Ravidas Jayanti will be celebrated at mandal (block), district and state level of the party. In southern states, it will be celebrated at district and state level," he said.

As part of the celebration, BJP leaders will visit Ravidas Temple and felicitate the priest and saints.

"Poll bound states are asked to make other programmes to celebrate Ravidas Jayanti apart from the events decided for rest of states," Arya said.

The BJP SC morcha will also celebrate the Ravidas Jayanti on social media.

A team of volunteers has been assigned the responsibility to celebrate Ravidas Jayanti on the social media.

"About 100 volunteers will oversee Ravidas Jayanti celebration on social media. They will share the teachings of Ravidas on our social media platforms," Arya said.

Ravidas Jayanti will be celebrated on February 16.

To woo the Dalit voters and followers of Ravidas, all the political parties in Punjab had requested the Election Commission (EC) to change the polling date in state.

On the request of political parties, the EC rescheduled the polling to February 20 from February 14.

Among SC communities, the BJP trying to make in road of BSP vote bank by projecting former Uttarakhand governor and party national vice president Baby Rani Maurya as its Dalit face in the state against former chief minister Mayawati.

In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP is trying to make inroads among Dalit votes which traditionally votes for Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).