New Delhi: In an effort to connect to the Dalit voters ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Bhartiya Janata Party launched a Dalit outreach programme on April 24 with the help of Buddhist monks.
Now, almost one and a half months later, BJP wants to know if the outreach programme had any impact. The party has availed services of IIT graduates to assess if the effort had any desired effect.
'Dhamma Chetna Yatra', as the BJP-supported journey is called, was flagged off by Home Minister Rajnath Singh at Sarnath on April 24. The ongoing yatra, involving 75 Buddhist monks, aims to woo Dalit voters in the state and will cover 75 districts. It has already completed its journey in Varanasi and Gorakhpur regions.
The six-month long drive will conclude in Lucknow on October 14 and the organisers of the programme want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a rally on the day. The day has significance as on October 14 in 1956, Babasaheb Ambedkar had embraced Buddhism with his 3,65,000 followers in Nagpur.
Dhamma Yatra chief Dhamma Virio was Ambedkar's companion and had performed the last rites of BSP founder Kanshi Ram. Kanshi Ram had also took help of Buddhist monks to build BSP and motivated his followers to discard Hinduism and follow Buddhism as a protest against the prevailing caste hierarchy.
Modi had felicitated Virio at Mhow, the birthplace of Ambedkar, during his visit on April 26.
