Opinion: Nitish Kumar Delivers On Caste Count. Over To INDIA Parties
On Gandhi Jayanti, the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar released the findings of its statewide caste survey, intensifying the battle for the OBC (Other Backward Class) vote and setting the opposition agenda for 2024. Nitish Kumar also called an all-party meeting to discuss the caste report. He has been batting for “jiski jitni sankhya bhaari uski utni hissedaari”.
The INDIA bloc parties, including the Congress, have been pitching for a caste census at the national level for scientific and targeted welfare of OBCs. It is widely seen as an attempt to revive Mandal 2.0 as a counter to the BJP’s Kamandal 2.0, that is the grand inauguration of the Ram temple in January.
Nitish Kumar deserves credit for the speed at which the caste count was carried out and the report released – something even Manmohan Singh in 2011 and Siddaramaiah during his previous 2013-18 tenure could not achieve, despite promises.
The data shows that a whopping 84% of the population in Bihar belongs to the OBC (Backward Caste+ Extremely Backward Class), Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes category. Rahul Gandhi praised the findings as historic and reiterated that only three out of 90 secretaries in the Indian government belonged to OBCs. On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed it a tool of divisive politics.
The numbers thrown up by the caste survey are in line with the earlier estimates, more or less – the minority population of 17%-18% largely seem to have classified themselves as Backward Caste or Extremely Backward Class (12%) and the balance 5%, under the general category.
All eyes will be on Nitish Kumar’s next move. Nitish Kumar and Rahul Gandhi have earlier supported the demand for a higher reservation of 50% for OBCs and the removal of the cap on reservations. They hope to galvanize the OBC voters through this demand and make a serious dent in the BJP vote.
Nitish Kumar is trying to emerge as the champion of OBCs, a position which Modi enjoys currently, and corner the BJP.