PATNA, June 8 -- In a bid to consolidate support among Scheduled Castes and nullify Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's move to target SC voters, the BJP has decided to launch an outreach campaign to woo dalits of poll-bound Bihar, even before seat-sharing talks have begun among the NDA constituents for the upcoming elections. The BJP state unit has decided to organise Sant Shiromani Ravidas Sammelan-cum-honour ceremony in Bihar from June 20. By doing so, the party plans to target Ravidas community. Sant Ravidas, a 15th-century Bhakti saint, is a significant figure in the dalit community and is widely recognised as a dalit icon. In 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commemorated Ravidas' 647th birth anniversary in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi. Now, with the Bihar election around the corner, the BJP has decided to hold such conclaves in different districts and created a schedule for that. According to a senior state BJP leader, familiar with developments, BJP has fixed conclave dates for Begusarai on June 20, Samastipur on June 22, Madhubani on June 25, Bagaha and Bhagalpur on June 29, Saharsa on June 30, Muzaffarpur and Siwan on July 6, Darbhanga on July 7, Gaya on July 13, Banka on July 16, Arwal on July 18, Khagaria and Sitamarhi on July 20 and Gopalganj on July 31. Though the Ravidas community form only 5 per cent of Bihar's 7,80,22,933 electorates, the total dalit voters are 19 per cent and they are considered to be the core voters for the BJP and the NDA. "The BJP and NDA got more than 60 per cent of dalit votes during Lok Sabha polls. The purpose of this outreach is to increase the reach further or at least hold on the percentage in view of the serious outreach effort launched by the Mahaghatbandhan (Grand Alliance) parties. They are entering into our domain and this percentage might fall. The party leadership wants to maintain those numbers," said Sanjay Paswan, a former minister of state of human resource development in Vajpayee government and a former national president, BJP SC Morcha. As per the CSDS data post 2024 Lok Sabha polls, nearly 65 per cent of Dusadh/Pasi community voted for NDA, down by 19 per cent; 12 per cent Mushars voted for NDA (+6 per cent) and other SC votes came down to 58 per cent (-18 per cent). Talking of Ravidas, 27 per cent of voting population voted for the NDA as against 34 per cent for Grand Alliance. Senior BJP leaders said the plan to organise the Ravidas Sammelans was conceived in mid-May when Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi started touring SC hostels and alleged that Bihar police stopped him on his way to Ambedkar hostel in Darbhanga. "He has also been organising Samvidhan Sammelan during his visits and making false statements on reservations," said a BJP leader. The BJP think tank, taking a cue from the unfavourable experience in last year's Lok Sabha election, believes that Congress managed to twist BJP's '400 paar' campaign slogan as fear mongering among dalit voters, suggesting their reservation rights were on the line. This worked against the BJP in the two Hindi heartland states. "The Ravidas Sammelans are part of the exercise to pre-empt any such move during Bihar Assembly polls as NDA has also set its goal to reach a tally of 220 plus in 243 members house," said a senior BJP leader. "Since June 4 last year, when the results were declared, the BJP has taken corrective measures to win the narrative war. However, the party feels that with no big alliance partner that has a solid grip among the dalit community, the outreach is the best way forward....