In the Jat-dominated politics of Haryana, Brahmins, the second-largest community in the State, have largely remained sidelined after Bhagat Dayal Sharma, a Brahmin, became the first Chief Minister of Haryana in 1966.
Traditionally a Congress vote bank, a large chunk of the community shifted its loyalty to the Ram Bilas Sharma-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2014, swayed by the “Modi wave” and disillusioned with the State Congress’s politics dominated by the Jats.
However, despite the BJP winning a majority in Haryana for the first time in the 2014 Assembly poll under a Brahmin State president, the party’s central leadership chose Manohar Lal, a Punjabi, as the Chief Minister.
A section of the Brahmins now feels the community didn’t get its “due” in the BJP. And the Congress hopes to cash in on this resentment ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections next year.
‘Four Deputy CMs’
Speaking at a function in Rohtak last week, former Congress Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda promised four Deputy Chief Ministers, including one from the Brahmin community, if voted to power.
He also promised the restoration of job reservation under the Economically Weaker Sections category and setting up a “strong” Brahmin Commission.
A senior BJP leader, on condition of anonymity, said the community – comprising almost 12% of the State’s population – was “unhappy” with the treatment meted out by the BJP and felt “left out” while Punjabis and Banias, with almost half of the Brahmin population, cornered a lion’s share of the bureaucratic and political appointments.
Both the BJP and the Congress have two Brahmin MLAs each in the current Vidhan Sabha. While the BJP gave five tickets to Brahmins, the Congress fielded two candidates from the community in the last Assembly election.
“Almost half of the chairmen of various boards in the State are Punjabi. In 2019, Punjabis and Banias got preference over Brahmins in ticket distribution. Jats, who don’t vote for the BJP, too have been adjusted, with party president Om Prakash Dhankar himself a Jat and several Ministers from the community. The Pahrawar land dispute also did not go down well with the community,” said the BJP leader, referring to the controversy over allotment of land in Rohtak to Gaur Brahman Vidya Pracharini Sabha.
The Brahmin-dominated village, Pahrawar, had in 2009 donated 15 acres of land to the Gaur Educational Trust and a resolution was later adopted by the State Assembly during the Congress rule to give it to the trust on lease. While the Municipal Corporation cancelled the lease agreement earlier this year citing violation of certain norms, the BJP government seemed non-committal on the issue causing resentment among the Brahmins.
The BJP leader added that the party seemed to have taken the Brahmins’ support “for granted” and the situation could work in the Congress’s favour.
‘Exploited as vote bank’
Mr. Lal’s media secretary Praveen Attrey accused Mr. Hooda of “neglecting” the community during his 10-year rule and now trying to “lure” them with a post of Deputy Chief Minister. “Mr. Hooda exploited the community only as a vote bank. Why was Venod Sharma not replaced with a Brahmin Minister after his resignation in 2006? Why are those who challenged reservation to Brahmins under EWS still close to him?” he said.
Mr. Attrey, who is also the general secretary of Akhil Bhartiya Brahmin Mahasabha, said the community never got the kind of respect which it received in the BJP and under the leadership of Mr. Lal.
“He issued a postage stamp in the name of Bhagwan Parshuram and declared Parshuram Jayanti a gazetted holiday. He will soon lay the foundation stone for a medical college in Kaithal named after Bhagwan Parshuram. He also resolved the Pahrawar dispute,” Mr. Attrey said, adding that Brahmins would rally behind the BJP in the 2024 elections.
But Brahmin leaders within the BJP have also raised the demand for a Chief Minister from their community. Reacting to Mr. Hooda’s remarks, Mr. Ram Bilas Sharma, at a recent press conference, said the community had its eyes set on a “bigger seat”, in an obvious reference to the Chief Minister’s post. At an event held a year ago, BJP’s Rohtak MP Arvind Sharma had also advocated the need for a Brahmin Chief Minister.
‘Not aware of move’
Meanwhile, bringing the infighting in the Congress to the fore, senior party leader Kumari Selja told a Hindi news channel that she was not aware of any formula for four deputy Chief Ministers for Haryana during her stint as State Congress chief and the party had not authorised anyone to make such an announcement.
