Decode Politics: The politics of the Ambedkar statues in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana

Ahead of the Assembly and Parliament elections, which will be held simultaneously in Andhra Pradesh later this year, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy unveiled a 125-foot statue of Dr B R Ambedkar at the Swaraj Maidan in Vijayawada on Friday, in what could be a bid to ensure the support of the Scheduled Caste (SC) population in the state.

Last April, the then Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government had inaugurated a similar 125-foot tall statue in Hyderabad, though that hardly secured the party’s fortunes, with the Congress coming to power in the Assembly elections.

The YSRCP government, which claims its statue to be the tallest of Ambedkar in the country, has taken several other initiatives aimed at Dalit voters. On Friday, the state also began its own caste survey amid Opposition calls for a nationwide caste census.

The SC community makes up 19% of Andhra Pradesh’s population. The Vijayawada structure has been christened by the government as the ‘Statue of Social Justice’.

In the May 2019 elections, Dalit support had been crucial to the YSRCP coming to power, winning 151 Assembly seats.

With the alliance of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena Party hitting the ground to dislodge Jagan, and his sister Y S Sharmila set to shake up state politics as the head of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee, the YSRCP is leaving nothing to chance.

Quoting statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau, the TDP recently launched a stinging criticism of the YSRCP, claiming Dalits were being attacked by forward caste YSRCP supporters.

“Jagan is the torch-bearer of Dalit rights. No leader or CM has done so much for the welfare of SCs, STs, BCs and minorities as has Jagan. The Ambedkar statue is a beacon of empowerment of Dalits