PATNA: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will face its first test in Bihar following the sudden decision to conduct a caste census, a move whose impact will be closely watched in a state where Other Backward Classes (OBC) politics holds significant sway.
Although the BJP virtually played a masterstroke by unexpectedly announcing a caste count, opposition parties, particularly Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress, are left with no option but to face the reality and make claims that they have been demanding it since long.
Bihar was the first state to demand a caste census, and an all–party delegation, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2021 to push for a caste-based census. Later Bihar government conducted the survey from its own resources when the Centre expressed its inability to conduct the caste census.
Nitish later switched sides and joined hands with RJD-led Mahagathbandhan in August 2022. The findings of the survey were released in October 2023, and subsequently, reservation was hiked from 50 per cent to 65 per cent, in addition to a 10 per cent quota for WES and above.
Bihar, already surcharged in view of the forthcoming assembly election, is poised to witness OBC politics as polls draw closer. The Bihar caste-based survey revealed that EBC (extremely backwards classes), which comprises 112 castes and OBC, which constitutes 30 castes, together made 63.13 per cent of the state’s population.
Similarly, Scheduled Castes accounted for 19.65 per cent of the population, while Scheduled Tribes made up 1.68 per cent. Upper castes comprised just 15.52 per cent of the state’s total population.
With the Centre’s announcement to conduct caste census alongside general census, experts feel that it would be interesting to see its impact in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections due later this year.
Prof D M Diwakar, former director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies, said that RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav first raised the issue of caste census in Bihar, but it gradually turned into a major political issue at the national level.
He said that PM Narendra Modi announced caste census mainly to divert people’s attention from the recent Pahalgam terrorist attack and also from the Supreme Court’s interim order on Waqf Amendment Act and its realisation that Nitish’s support base has shrunk considerably after his party’s support to Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the parliament.
He said that by announcing the caste census, the BJP will only be able to do damage control by not favouring any such idea, but chief minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and RJD can hope to derive electoral advantages.
He said that BJP can hope to make inroads into the non-Yadav OBC and EBC votes as the transfer of votes of these social groups from JD (U) to BJP has not also always been a very smooth exercise.
JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, however, refuted the Opposition's claim that the Nitish government conducted a caste-based survey under its pressure. He said that the Bihar government decided to conduct a caste-based survey in 2022 when JD(U) and BJP were sharing power in the state.
Earlier, taking a dig at the opposition, Bihar deputy chief minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi fulfilled the dreams of Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Lalu Prasad Yadav by announcing the caste census.
Reacting sharply to Choudhary’s comments, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav sought to corner the Centre by asserting that it was a victory for the party president Lalu Prasad and his ideology that forced BJP to conduct a caste census at the national level.
“Remember when Lalu Prasad started demanding for caste census and now when they are left with no option, they announced caste census under compulsion,” he remarked,
“Question arises when the caste census will be conducted. Census has not been conducted so far. Delimitation has not been done. Definitely, caste census and general census will have to be conducted before delimitation,” he added.
JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, however, refuted the Opposition claim that Nitish government conducted caste-based survey under any pressure. He said that the Bihar government decided to conduct a caste-based survey in 2022 when JD(U) and BJP were sharing power in the state.