Balancing The Scales: BJP And The Politics Of OBC Representation

News18

24-07-2025

Last Updated:
The OBC issue is no longer a footnote. It is the future of Indian politics. And for the BJP, the time to choose is now
In the smoke and dust of Indian politics, where identity is often currency, the question of OBCs (Other Backward Classes) has returned to centre stage. As the BJP charts its future, the party's relationship with the OBC voter base stands at a critical inflection point. No party can afford to ignore this bloc, and the BJP, with its grand ambitions, must now navigate a delicate tightrope—balancing upper-caste legacy, backward-caste empowerment, and a shifting social landscape.
OBC equation is more than just numbers
At nearly 45 per cent of India's population, the OBCs are not a vote bank. They are the battleground. Their aspirations are not one-dimensional—they range from economic security and social dignity to political power and symbolic recognition. For decades, these communities were underrepresented in power structures. But over time, parties from the Mandal-era champions like the Janata Dal to regional leaders like Nitish Kumar and Mulayam Singh Yadav emerged from within their ranks.
The BJP entered the OBC game late but aggressively. In the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi—himself an OBC—successfully crafted a narrative that bypassed traditional caste loyalties. He offered something different: a pan-Hindu identity laced with ambition and nationalism. 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas" resonated, especially among non-dominant, non-Yadav OBCs in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who felt excluded by earlier caste-based parties.
The recent chorus for a nationwide caste census has thrown the BJP into a strategic bind. Mandal 2.0 is not about social justice alone—it is a demand for statistical truth, for a reordering of privilege. It pits the call for OBC-centric policies against a party structure that still draws much of its intellectual and organisational muscle from upper-caste networks.
While regional allies and rivals have openly backed the caste census, the BJP has been hesitant. There's a reason. A full revelation of caste numbers could undermine the Hindu unity narrative. It could also expose the disparity between representation and population share—especially if dominant castes are shown to wield disproportionate political and bureaucratic power.
The BJP's resistance is not just ideological but also tactical. The party knows that embracing the caste census may demand a restructuring of power within its own house. That kind of churn does not come easy.
Shift must be silent
Internally, the BJP has made overtures to the OBCs by creating OBC Morchas, expanding OBC quotas in educational and political institutions, and ensuring greater OBC representation in its ticket distribution. Leaders like Keshav Prasad Maurya, Sanjay Nishad, and Bhupendra Patel are meant to signal inclusivity.
Yet, these are not organic mass leaders in the mould of Lalu Prasad Yadav or even Nitish Kumar. They are appointees, not products of long grassroots movements. Their influence often stops at the stage, not the street.
Moreover, the party's increasing reliance on centralisation—with power flowing from the top down—has curbed the rise of assertive OBC voices from within. The BJP's core structure remains tightly controlled, and while it uses the language of social justice, its machinery often runs on a different fuel: loyalty, hierarchy, and central planning.
A moment of reckoning
The 2024 general elections revealed cracks in the OBC wall that the BJP had built. In states like Uttar Pradesh, the SP-Congress alliance made visible gains by framing the election as a battle between the oppressor and the marginalised. The optics were not just about policy but about voice—and its volume. About who speaks for the backward classes, and who speaks over them.
Even within the NDA, tensions are rising. Allies like Nitish Kumar and other regional leaders demand more space and more say. They understand what the BJP does too: that OBC assertion is no longer just about welfare—it is about ownership of the national narrative.
What might come next, one might ask? For the BJP, the road ahead involves hard choices. It can no longer afford to run on symbolism alone. The Modi-era social coalition—a mix of backward classes, aspirational youth, and nationalist pride—is ageing. The demand now is for deeper representation, structural fairness, and acknowledgement of historical imbalances.
If the BJP resists these currents, it risks losing the very communities it once brought under its umbrella. If it embraces them, it will have to reimagine its ideological scaffolding—less about unity, and more about equity.
The OBC issue is no longer a footnote. It is the future of Indian politics. And for the BJP, the time to choose is now.
The author is a writer, social worker and a corporate learning and development expert. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views.
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