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NEW DELHI: The desire to negate efforts to retard broader Hindu consolidation appears to have played a major role in the decision of the cabinet committee on political affairs (CCPA) to include caste enumeration in the next census. While political watchers are linking the move to assembly elections in Bihar, sources pointed out that the political field had been levelled in the state with the caste survey already completed.
Besides, the move was closely associated with chief minister Nitish Kumar, BJP’s alliance partner, leaving little space for RJD’s Tejaswi Yadav to claim bragging rights. A major consideration appears to have been to check attempts to split Hindus on caste lines, a cause for concern for BJP and RSS, which has been working on Hindu consolidation since inception.
Sources pointed out that the decision came hours after a one-on-one meeting between PM Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday, which capped parleys at different levels of the Sangh and BJP leadership.
The electoral success of BJP over the last decade has been facilitated largely by agglomeration of many caste groups coming together with OBCs and upper castes making a common cause. Starting with the 2024 general elections there has been a concerted attempt to splinter the coalition by reviving the thesis of OBC-dalit-Muslim unity, which may have resulted in some groups moving towards the Mandal pillar. The latest move may help BJP arrest the drift and make fresh bridges.
It was, however, not clear that the estimate of a nationalist resurgence, which will supplant any ‘savarna’ resentment over caste census, was part of the larger calculus. In addition, BJP insiders suggested the party stands on a stronger footing, having seized the main talking point from the opposition by taking the initiative, which Congress could not achieve despite its long governance tenure.
They said that the party can rightfully claim that it has delivered while Congress only talked about it. While there was initial apprehension about the decision on caste enumeration, the overall assessment was that the caste surveys in some of the states had not caused much turbulence on the ground.
BJP sources said that there was no “unease” as PM Modi is himself an OBC, while parties like Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal, are identified with dominant OBC castes, which can repel with polarisation of smaller castes against it. The party is also confident of upper caste support as it has already implemented a 10% quota for the economically weaker sections (EWS).
Janata Dal (United) national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha also welcomed the move, calling it a significant step for the upliftment of deprived sections. “Nitish Kumar clearly believes that it is necessary to have accurate data of various castes for the purpose of reducing socio-economic inequality and making accurate plans for the welfare of the targeted sections,” he added.
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