In the absence of a cohesive and unified perspective, the Dalit movement has also failed to emerge as a strong political force largely because Dalits are divided into hundreds of castes and sub-castes.
Further, among the Dalit sub-castes, approxuimately 56 % of Dalit population comprises of 20 dominant sub-castes. These dominant castes are presently the recipients of most of the benefits provided to the Dalits by the affirmative action for them them enshrined in the constitution.
Casteism among Dalits is widespread
and even Dr. Ambedkar failed to unify all of them together. That is why his his political influence was largely limited to to only the Mahar caste in Maharashtra to which he belonged.
In the Kanshi Ram era, however, strenous efforts by him succeeded in uniting a section of not only the Dalit sub-castes but also the Sudra castes under the concept of Dalit-Bahujan.
This has resulted in political power for the Dalit-Bahujans in the North India state of Uttar Pradesh and as resul has benefitted them in some material spheres.
NOTE: You can get very detailed and extensive information about casteism among dalits and how it is played out, along with information about how well to do Dalits have turned their back on their own in the eBook 'The Truth About Dalits'.
