Bahujan Dravida Party (BDP)

What it is: The Bahujan Dravida Party (BDP) is a small political party made up mostly of Tamil Sikhs. Onmanorama reports that it began as a movement in 2019 and became a political party by 2023, with units in 14 states. It follows the social reformers Periyar and Kanshi Ram and aims to uplift Dalits, Adivasis and other oppressed communities. Its national president is Jeevan Singh, reported as Jeevan Singh Malla by Onmanorama and as Jeevan Kumar on his nomination papers, according to The Tribune.

Its leader: Jeevan Singh is a Supreme Court lawyer who takes public interest cases for oppressed communities. He was born in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) to Hindu Dalit parents who became Christians, later turned to Buddhism, and then to Sikhism, taking amrit in 2023, according to Onmanorama. He told the paper: “I found Sikhism to be the philosophy that could eradicate the caste system.”

Key moments

• 2024: the BDP fielded seven Tamil Sikh candidates in Tamil Nadu in the Lok Sabha election and about 40 others, mostly aspiring Sikhs, in other states (Onmanorama).
• 2024, Hoshiarpur: Jeevan Singh contested the Punjab seat that Kanshi Ram won in 1996, as a tribute to him. AAP’s Raj Kumar Chabbewal won it with 303,859 votes, ahead of Congress’s Yamini Gomar with 259,748.
• March 2026: the BDP allied with Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi, a local party led by T. Velmurugan, for the Tamil Nadu Assembly election. It planned to field candidates in 10 constituencies with large Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or OBC populations, and Jeevan Singh criticised both the DMK and the AIADMK for failing to deliver social justice (ANI).

Its place in this history: The BDP presents Sikhism as the way out of caste, and Jeevan Singh told ANI that he promotes it as an alternative for Tamil Nadu. He also said the party would contest the Uttar Pradesh elections.

Where it stands: It is small and young. The published sources do not yet cover the Tamil Nadu result of 2026.