Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Sharma accused the Congress party on Sunday of "looting" votes to orchestrate Dr B.R. Ambedkar's electoral defeat in the 1952 Lok Sabha polls, only to now invoke his name for political gains. Speaking at a community event in Malihabad, Lucknow district, Sharma labelled Congress's historical treatment of the architect of India's Constitution as an "insult", urging vigilance against the party's alleged divisive tactics. "They defeated him by indulging in dacoity of votes... Now this party wants to save itself by using Babasaheb's name. These are people who divide the society," Sharma declared, framing the accusations as a cautionary tale for voters ahead of future elections.

Sharma's remarks revive a contentious chapter in Indian political history. Ambedkar, a Dalit icon and champion of social justice, contested from North Mumbai as an independent but lost narrowly to Congress candidate Narayan Kajrolkar. Allegations of vote rigging, including discrepancies in voter lists and booth-level manipulations favouring Congress, have long been levelled by Ambedkar's supporters and right-wing critics.

Ambedkar himself hinted at foul play in his writings, contributing to his decision to dissolve the Scheduled Castes Federation and later convert to Buddhism in 1956 as a protest against caste-based discrimination. The BJP has frequently weaponised this narrative to court Dalit voters, contrasting it with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiatives like the Ambedkar International Centre and statues honouring the leader, while accusing opposition parties of tokenism.

The event also touched on recent communal flare-ups, with Sharma warning of "attempts to create an atmosphere of anarchy" in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, over the viral "I Love Muhammad" social media campaign. The controversy erupted earlier this month when posts praising Prophet Muhammad sparked outrage among Hindu groups, leading to protests that turned violent on September 27. Clashes involved stone-pelting, vandalism, and arson, prompting police to fire tear gas and baton-charge crowds.

Prominent cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan, leader of the Barelvi faction, was arrested on Saturday under charges of inciting violence. Authorities have filed 10 FIRs against 180 named individuals and 2,500 unidentified "rioters", invoking sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for rioting, promoting enmity, and hurting religious sentiments. At least 50 people were injured, with curfews imposed in sensitive areas; investigations point to coordinated mobilisation via WhatsApp groups, raising fears of broader sectarian tensions in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.

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Sharma extended his critique to historical injustices against the Pasi community—a prominent Dalit group in Uttar Pradesh—claiming the Mughals and British deliberately defamed them to thwart uprisings. "They were afraid that the people of the Pasi community might end their rule prematurely," he asserted, positioning the BJP as a defender of marginalised castes against colonial and "pseudo-secular" legacies. The Pasi, comprising over 15% of UP's population, have been pivotal in recent elections, with the BJP's outreach through schemes like free rations and reservations bolstering its 2024 Lok Sabha haul.

Critics, however, decry such rhetoric as polarising, especially amid rising hate crimes reported by the National Crime Records Bureau, which logged a 20% uptick in caste-based atrocities in 2024. As UP gears up for municipal polls, Sharma's speech signals the BJP's strategy to consolidate Hindu-Dalit alliances while countering Congress's renewed Ambedkar-centric campaigns.

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