Rahul's Forgotten Promise - "You Will Not Remain a Dalit"

Though the village pradhan gave her work under MNREGA, she was never issued with a job card and could work for only three months. Dhananjay Singh, an upper caste native of Semra village said “She never became a beneficiary on paper.” According to him, Shivkumari’s experience had become a lesson for his fellow villagers, who no longer paid attention to Gandhi’s visits to Dalit households.

Singh added “There is not a single instance where people from the Party state unit have done follow ups of such visits. Rahul ji’s intentions may be good, but if this is what he would make of a Dalit, he will never get their vote.”

This incapability to deliver is what likely hurt the 89 Dalits fielded by the Congress in the last Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, of whom only five won their seats. Semra was just one of the 85 reserve constituencies that Gandhi travelled during his long UP campaign.

When Shivkumari was asked if she would vote for Congress in the next elections? She said “I cannot go against the mandate of my village.” And there is no doubt as to what that mandate would be in Amethi.

And if he returns, she said “I will not beg before him. If he comes back, it is fine. Otherwise, I am happy with the way I am.”