The upper caste protests over the amendment to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in poll-bound MP and Rajasthan has the BJP worried, but the party leaders have drawn up plans to placate the grouping and are confident that the issue will be dealt with in a few weeks.MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his Rajasthan counterpart Vasundhara Raje have faced the wrath of the upper caste voters during their ‘yatras’ in their states. Though initially BJP leaders dismissed the protests as being sponsored by Congress, they had to accept the anger over the initiative taken up by the Centre in passing the amendment to the SC/ST Act that undid its “dilution” by the Supreme Court.The protesters, not just in the two states but also in other parts of the country, especially the Hindi belt, have threatened to either not vote or press the NOTA button during the elections.“The upper caste voters do not have much option but to vote for us. It is good that they are venting their anger now. It will dissipate by the time the Lok Sabha elections are held,” a minister said. “We will try to convince them that the SC/ST Act has only been restored to its original form and not made draconian. Also, no instance of its misuse has come to light. Any law can be misused but there are checks for that.”The upper caste protests may actually convince the Dalits that BJP is espousing their cause, feels party leaders.The BJP will carry on with its overtures to the SC voters. BJP chief Amit Shah has been visiting homes of SC voters to dine with them as a part of this exercise. The party feels the OBC and SC voters can help it retain its seat tally in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. BJP has also made efforts to appropriate BR Ambedkar as one of its icons.However, a conspicuous jump in the cases of atrocities against SCs, cow vigilantism where Dalits and Muslims are usually at the receiving end, the nebulous stand by the BJP in cases like the Rohith Vemula suicide have cast doubts on its commitment to their cause. The party has failed to shed its upper caste bias and many feel its efforts to woo the Dalits are merely for electoral gains.Congress and other opposition parties have often described BJP as anti-SC. “Congress and Rahul Gandhi are confused. Sometimes they call us anti-Dalit and now after the SC/ST amendment they are calling us anti-upper caste. They had supported the amendment bill in Parliament (the bill was passed with consensus in both houses). Gandhi visits temples and then tries to appease the Muslims,” a BJP general secretary said.Many in BJP believe that the upper castes will not abandon the party, especially as Hindutva and development continue to be espoused by the ruling party and the Sangh Parivar. “The upper castes usually stay with power and Congress does not seem to be in a position to come to power in 2019. It is the Dalits we need to focus on. It forms a big chunk of voters and usually votes en bloc,” the BJP leader said.