LUCKNOW: The results of Bihar’s caste survey announced on Monday galvanised both the opposition parties and the BJP allies alike in UP to reiterate their demand for a similar exercises in the country’s politically most crucial state.
In Uttar Pradesh -- where the Mandal Commission report in 1990 had led to a major political churn aiding the rise of regional satraps Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party – the caste census is set to decide the future course of the state’s politics.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief and four-time UP CM Mayawati on Tuesday said the caste-based census in Bihar was the first step towards ensuring constitutional rights to other backward classes (OBCs).
Demanding a similar exercise in Uttar Pradesh, she said: "The findings of the caste census in Bihar may be making some parties uncomfortable, but for the BSP, it is the first step in the long struggle for ensuring the constitutional rights of OBCs," she posted on X.
Demanding that the UP government commence the caste-based census immediately, Mayawati said the "right solution", however, would be that the BJP-led central government conducts the exercise at the national level.
The BSP chief said her party was happy that India's politics was taking a new turn in favour of the neglected 'Bahujan Samaj'. She said the new development had rendered what she called "extreme anti-caste and anti-Mandal" sections, worried for their future.
Mayawati's regional rival and UP’s main opposition party Samajwadi Party’s chief Akhilesh Yadav also demanded a similar exercise at the national level.
“Bihar caste-based census published: This is the mathematical basis of social justice. The caste census will not open a new path of 85-15 conflict but of cooperation and those who are not domineering but are supporters of everyone's rights, they support and welcome it. Those who really want to get the rights, get the caste census done. The BJP government should leave politics and conduct a nationwide caste census," he had posted on X.
Even SP allies including Jayant Chaudhury led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and the Apna Dal (K) – also echoed the same sentiment.
“The caste census is a must in UP as well to ensure correct share of various castes in various government schemes,” RLD state president Ramashish Rai said. “We demand the UP government immediately order a caste census now when the Bihar government has even released the report.”
The UP Congress leader and former chief of UPCC Ajay Kumar Lallu said the Bihar survey results had vindicated the Opposition bloc’s stance.
Even three of the BJP allies, having their bastions in eastern Uttar Pradesh, demanded a caste count in India’s most-populous state, just months before the 2024 general elections.
These allies -- the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) the Nishad Party and the Apna Dal (Sonelal) -- are given weight because they control crucial backward caste groups -- Rajbhars back the SBSP, boatmen and fishermen support the Nishad Party and Kurmis vote for the Apna Dal (Sonelal) -- that are key to winning at least 20 to 25 seats on offer in eastern UP.
While Apna Dal (S) leader and Union minister Anupriya Patel, a Lok Sabha MP from Mirzapur, backed the exercise of caste census saying she had raised the issues in Parliament as well, SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar welcomed Bihar’s move saying one must ask whether those castes, which had emerged as most backward and whose numbers were high too in their survey, had actually benefited over the years in state, which for the last three decades had mostly been ruled either by Lalu Prasad’s RJD or Nitish Kumar’s JD (U).
Meanwhile, the ruling BJP sought to counter Bihar’s caste census move by highlighting the developmental work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “In Uttar Pradesh everyone is getting their rights and respect,” said BJP’s UP other backward classes (OBC) wing chief and backward welfare minister Narendra Kashyap.
“My department’s budget that used to be around Rs 500 crore earlier has gone up under Yogi Adityanathji’s government manifold and currently is pegged at Rs 2,300 crore...That is why the issue of caste census isn’t getting much attention as OBCs have benefited under our government like never before,” Kashyap added.