BJP to launch caste census campaign
The initiative, sources said, will aim to bolster the party's support among the Other Backward Classes (OBC) ahead of the 2027 state assembly elections. Party leaders were directed to initiate dialogues with various OBC communities to inform them about the anticipated benefits of caste-based enumeration. These include the collection of data to enable targeted welfare programmes, identification of disparities in resource distribution and improved policymaking on affirmative action.
Experts say the data will also provide deeper insight into the state's social structure and help promote inclusivity and equality.
UP backward class welfare minister and state party chief of OBC Morcha, Narendra Kashyap, told TOI that the campaign, which will be carried out for at least a year, would reach out to all OBC sub-castes which have otherwise remained deprived of privileges, including reservation benefits.
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"The party will hold chaupals and workshops to reach out to the OBC communities," Kashyap said.
The use of chaupals and workshops, analysts said, potentially suggests a bottom-up approach, with the BJP's bid to build narratives not just from above but by directly engaging with marginalised – but electorally significant – OBC communities at the grassroots level. The caste census has been a major demand of several opposition parties, essentially the Samajwadi Party and Congress.
In fact, the SP's Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak (PDA) campaign — centred on caste census and social justice — is widely said to have dented the BJP while reducing its tally in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Experts said that by initiating its own campaign, the BJP aims to reposition itself on the issue to avoid ceding any political ground in the run-up to the panchayat elections due next year and subsequently the 2027 UP polls.
The party also aims to reconnect with OBC communities, many of which have traditionally aligned with regional players like the SP and the Mayawati-led BSP.
Experts suggest that the BJP will seek to steer the caste census narrative toward development and national integration. This includes showcasing its existing welfare schemes for backward castes and linking the census with its broader governance agenda. BJP, as a matter of fact, has also been wheeling out a sharp OBC narrative by invoking historical figures from the backward class communities – most recently, Maharaja Suhaildev and Ahilyabai Holkar.
Meanwhile, the opposition is also pulling up socks to make deeper inroads among the OBC communities. After making an effective presence as an ally of the Samajwadi Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party plans to go the extra mile in wooing the OBC. Congress plans to hold 'Bhagidari Nyay Sammelan' in every district from June 14 to July 15.
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