Ravidas Jayanti is celebrated across the country on the day of Maghi Purnima. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid obeisance at the Guru Ravidas temple in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi visited the Saint Ravidas temple in Varanasi. Moreover, AAP national convenor & Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and party's CM face for the state, Bhagwant Mann visit Sat Guru Ravidass Dham in Bootan Mandi, Jalandhar on the occasion of Guru Ravidas Jayanti.
Amidst the electoral turmoil in five states including Punjab and UP, there is a competition among politicians to celebrate Guru Ravidas Jayanti and visit temples. As many people are followers of Saint Ravidas, the poet of the Bhakti period, it is a big reason that politicians are showing sudden and keen interest in such. The birth place of Guru Ravidas is in Varanasi but his followers are found in almost every state of the country. Although its number is more in Punjab.
Let us tell you that in Punjab, the effect of their numbers is that while the Punjab assembly elections were earlier to be held on February 14, now they will be held on February 20. Political parties had demanded from the Election Commission that most of the Dalits of the state would be on a visit to Varanasi for Saint Ravidas Jayanti. In such a situation, he will not be able to participate in the assembly elections to be held on February 14. So the election date should be extended.
Because of this demand, the Election Commission has decided to hold Punjab Assembly elections on February 20 instead of 14. At the same time, the vote number of this community is also behind the leaders of political parties visiting the temple on Saint Ravidas Jayanti. Where there are 20 percent Dalits in UP, in which Saint Ravidas has a good influence. In Punjab, there are about 39 sub-classes of Dalits. There are also 5 sub-classes in which 80% of the Dalit population is included.
Among the 5 sub-groups in Punjab, the Ravidasiyas also have the second largest number of religious Sikhs after 30 percent. In Punjab, they are close to about 24% of the total Dalit population. Most of their population is found in the Doaba region of Punjab. It includes districts like Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala.
At the same time, there are 23 seats in the Doaba region in the Punjab Assembly elections on which the Ravidasiya community has a significant influence. At the same time, this community considers Varanasi in UP as its biggest pilgrimage. In such a situation, every political party wants to make this population on its side in the electoral battle. It is believed that for this reason, leaders of big political parties are visiting Saint Ravidas temple on the occasion of Guru Ravidas Jayanti.