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DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Hindus—can vote for the Scheduled Castes seat and compete to capture it. In this game the relative disproportion in voting strength of the two becomes of immense importance. For success in election in such a linked constituency primarily depends upon relative voting strength of the competing groups.
The second electoral difficulty arose out of the number of the seats fixed for the general constituencies in which seats were reserved for the Untouchables. The following table shows the system adopted in the different provinces.
Table 16
Classification of General Constituencies in which Seats for Untouchables are Reserved
| Province | No. of Seats Reserved for Untouchables | No. of Constituencies with 2 Seats | No. of Constituencies with 3 Seats | No. of Constituencies with 4 Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madras … … Bombay … … Bengal … … United Provinces Punjab … … Bihar … … Central Provinces Assam … … Orissa … … Total … | 30 15 30 20 8 15 20 7 6 | 30 Nil 20 20 8 15 20 6 6 | Nil 6 5 Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil | Nil 9 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil |
| 151 | 125 | 12 | 9 |
This table shows that out of 151 General Constituencies required to be declared as reserved for the Scheduled Castes as many as 180 were two-member constituencies in which one seat was reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the other was kept as a general seat. It is quite possible that many will not realize the electoral danger that is involved to the Untouchables in this twomember constituency system. But the danger is very real. How real it is, will become clear if it was considered along with the relative voting strength of the Hindus and the Untouchables in the General constituency to which attention has already been drawn. Where the constituency is a plural constituency of—say three or four members— one reserved for the Scheduled Castes and two or three left for the general community, the relatively higher voting strength of the Hindus is not so much a matter of danger as it is when