Has Caste trumped macro-religious politics in India?
Two events are dominating election headlines. One, the Election Commission rescheduling voting in Punjab from February 14 to 20. Two, the decamping of several BJP figures on the eve of polling. Are both linked?
Let’s pick the second first. Last-minute party-hopping is not uncommon in India, but what’s striking is a persistent logic (beyond enlightened self-interest). In the mini-exodus that Uttar Pradesh saw a few days ago, all the exits were by leaders from sundry OBC communities. Did they manage to turn sufficiently ‘socialist’ on election eve to be able to join the Samajwadi Party? Of course not.
What it marks out is purely a politics where a set of individuals who claim a strong catchment area in their respective castes dominate the field. Caste is a perennial issue, but why is it so critical this time? Because a party’s worth, especially in UP, will be evaluated by its ability to stitch together a bigger caste coalition. All candidate selection is sharp-focused on that—forget Ayodhya or the Yogi regime’s governance record. That’s why the BJP gave tickets to 44 OBCs in its first list to offset the desertions. It also sealed an alliance with the Nishad Party, which helps it cover a key caste niche in the riverine belts of eastern UP: the boatmen community. All this is urgent work because the SP is trying to expand on its old Muslim-Yadav social alliance by wooing other OBCs/EBCs and sections of the Dalits.
If the EC had been doing similar due diligence, there’s no sign of it. Election dates used to be determined after taking into account major examination schedules, the festival calendar, etc. This time it missed the fact that Ravidas Jayanti fell on February 16: That’s a full pilgrimage to Varanasi for vast numbers from Punjab’s Dalit Ravidasi community. At 31.9%, Punjab has one of the highest Dalit population ratios in India. In both events, India’s underlying caste matrix seems to trump macro-religious politics.