JaikiSHen iS unHappy
Jaikishen, the only Dalit face in the Congress in Delhi, is sulking. A five-time MLA, Jaikishen has been sidelined after he lost the last Assembly elections to the Aam Aadmi Party, which got most of Delhi’s Dalit votes. He is upset that the Congress has brought in Brij Lal Khabri from Mayawati’s BSP to get Dalit votes in Uttar Pradesh, while ignoring him. Jaikishen and his supporters are saying that although, like Mayawati, Khabri is a Jatav, he will not be able to bring any votes for the Congress as the community votes en masse for the BSP chief. They argue that it is Jaikishen who can be of use to the party as he is a Balmiki and has considerable support among his community. The Balmikis constitute a substantial portion of the 21% Dalits in UP. He has been kept out of campaigning in Punjab too. It is being said that Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ajay Maken, who a Rahul Gandhi confidant, is blocking him.