The BJP’s decision to bring in a sweeping change in its Rajya Sabha representation has been a deft exercise in social engineering where the party sacrificed big names to give prominence to candidates from smaller castes.
A closer look at the list of candidates who have been picked up by the party helps unravel the mystery behind the party’s surgical strike against its own heavyweights, including Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
The party has clearly decided to increase its social appeal by giving more representation to SCs, OBCs and women. It has chosen Aditya Sahu, a party worker from the Teli community from Jharkhand; Sumitra Valmiki, an MP municipal councillor, who belongs to SC; Baburam Nishad, a fisherman from UP; SC leader Mithilesh Kumar, Sangeeta Yadav from Gorakhpur, OBC leader K Laxman from Telangana, Kishan Lal Panwar belonging to SC from Haryana, Anil Bonde, an OBC from Maharashtra;
Kavita Patidar from Madhya Pradesh, and a Gujjar leader Surendra Nagar from UP.
There are some candidates who belong to the upper caste category too. Among them are Dr Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, who vacated his Gorakhpur Assembly seat for Yogi Adityanath to contest. Then there is Laxmikant Bajpai, a prominent Brahmin face in UP. But the party’s list of candidates is dominated by SCs, OBCs and women.
There has clearly been a conscious effort to reach out to the neglected categories and increase party’s support base among the most populous backward communities. The two choices from Madhya Pradesh are aimed not only at increasing the party’s SC outreach but also influencing the ensuing election in the neighbouring Gujarat. The party has picked up Kavita Patidar for Rajya Sabha from MP. She is the daughter of former state minister Bherulal Patidar. Her candidature would send a positive message to the powerful Patidar caste in Malwa-Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh and adjoining Gujarat.
The other choice from Madhya Pradesh, Sumitra Valmiki, is one of the least known faces in the BJP circles. She comes from a humble background. Hailing from the Valmiki caste in the SC category, she has been elected thrice as the councillor of the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation (JMC). She has also served as state vice president of BJP Mahila Morcha and member of MP Safai Kamgar Aayog. By sending her to Rajya Sabha, the party has reached out to the SC community ahead of the 2023 MP Assembly polls and 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Similarly, by nominating Aditya Sahu to the Upper House from Jharkhand, the party has given a message that even a common party worker can reach top position. Sahu comes from the backward Teli community and is only a state general secretary of the party and has never contested elections.
The party candidate from UP Baburam Nishad belongs to the most backward community (MBC) in the Bundelkhand region. He was party’s chief of BC cell and UP Matsya Board. By nominating him to the Upper House, the BJP has ensured the representation of the MBCs and also Bundelkhand in Parliament. Party hopper Surendra Nagar was picked up as he belongs to the numerically strong Gujjar community of the western UP. Sangeeta Yadav’s nomination from UP is also attributed to her caste. The BJP aims to cut into main opponent Samajwadi Party’s Yadav vote base and has therefore decided to bring to the fore fresh Yadav faces. She joined the BJP in 2013 and was elected MLA from the historical seat of Chauri-Chaura seat in 2017.
Prominent SC leader from Shahjahanpur Mithilesh Kumar was chosen for his strong appeal within his community. He has been a two-time MLA and has won the Lok Sabha election from Shahjahanpur seat on SP ticket in 2009. In 2002, he became an independent MLA and then retained the seat on the SP ticket in 2007. He joined the BJP in 2019. Last year, the Yogi government reconstituted the state SC/ST Commission in which Kumar was nominated as the vice-chairperson.
Veteran OBC leader K Laxman from Telangana has been a two-time MLA. He was the BJP state president from 2016 to 2020. Started his political career with ABVP in Osmania University. He has been an MLA and presently heads the BJP’s OBC Morcha.
Former Haryana minister Krishan Lal Panwar has been chosen with eyes on SC votes in the upcoming poll. Dr Anil Bonde, the BJP nominee from Maharashtra comes from the backward Vidarbha region and is an OBC. Dr Bonde had played significant role in expanding the base of the BJP in the region. A firebrand Hindutva leader and an accused in the recent riot of Amrawati, he is considered close to Union minister Nitin Gadkari and former CM Devendra Fadnavis.