‘Dalit Khatre Mein Hai’: Why Congress Is Turning Kharge’s Uttarakhand Row Into A Bigger Narrative

Last Updated:September 01, 2026, 2:36 PM IST

Rahul Gandhi’s calculation appears to be that the Congress’s ‘Samvidhan khatre mein hai’ narrative worked in the 2024 LS elections and the Dalit row could get it more gains

There is more to the Congress’s strategy than simply backing Mallikarjun Kharge. (AFP)

It has been over 15 days since the Monsoon Session ended. On the last day of the session, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge launched a high-decibel attack on the BJP government in Uttarakhand, alleging that the state BJP unit had carried out a ‘purification’, or cleansing ceremony, after his rally in Haldwani. Kharge alleged that the ceremony was conducted because he is a Dalit.

The Congress was more or less silent on the issue after that, although Sonia Gandhi accompanied Kharge to meet the Rajya Sabha Chairman and formally complain about the incident.

A few days later, at a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, Kharge reportedly pointed out that not many leaders in his own party had bothered to take up the issue. A week after that observation, Rahul Gandhi held a press conference, and the Congress has since gone into overdrive over the issue.

But there is more to the Congress’s strategy than simply backing Kharge. The party is looking at the upcoming Uttar Pradesh and Punjab elections, and, more importantly, the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

Dalits account for around 16 per cent of India’s population. In Uttar Pradesh, their share is around 20 per cent, while in Punjab, the Scheduled Caste population is around 32 per cent.

Rahul Gandhi’s calculation appears to be that the Congress’s “Samvidhan khatre mein hai” narrative worked in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The slogan helped the party and its allies consolidate sections of the Dalit vote and contributed to the BJP falling short of a simple majority.

The Congress may now be looking to replicate that strategy by turning the Uttarakhand incident into a larger political narrative—essentially “Dalit khatre mein hain”—ahead of the upcoming state elections and eventually the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.

But there is a significant challenge: the Dalit vote is fiercely contested. The BSP remains an important player, while Chandrashekhar Azad’s party has also emerged as a force seeking to occupy the Dalit political space.

The BJP, too, has its own counter-narrative. Its outreach emphasises that Dalits should not be viewed merely as a vote bank and that the benefits of Union government schemes are reaching them directly.

Punjab also offers a cautionary example for the Congress. Despite projecting Charanjit Singh Channi, a Dalit leader, as its chief ministerial face in the 2022 assembly elections, the move did not translate into a Congress victory.

For the Congress, therefore, “Dalit khatre mein hain” is a potentially powerful political slogan. Kharge is the immediate peg around which the narrative is being built. The larger objective, however, appears to be the consolidation of the Dalit vote—first in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, and eventually with an eye on 2029.

About the Author

Pallavi Ghosh

Pallavi Ghosh has covered politics and Parliament for 15 years, and has reported extensively on Congress, UPA-I and UPA-II, and has now included the Finance Ministry and Niti Aayog in her reportage. S…Read More

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