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The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
A renewed OBC outreach in Uttar Pradesh
In Uttar Pradesh, political parties are focused on mobilising the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), which are estimated to comprise more than 40% of the State's population and consist of about 48 caste segments. This move comes against the backdrop of the Centre's announcement that caste enumeration will be part of the Census in 2027. On June 14, the Congress began a month-long outreach campaign called Bhagidari Nyay Sammelan, with the aim of reaching out to the OBCs. The party has started holding conferences across the State to raise awareness about the declining employment opportunities for OBCs. It is also organising village-level 'chaupal' campaigns to sensitise people on the importance of a caste census and an economic survey. It plans to hold district-level marches on the need to increase the reservation cap beyond 50%. Congress leaders have said that they will raise caste-centric issues of various OBC segments, such as the Kurmis, Noniyas, Binds, Mauryas, Kushwahas, Rajbhars, Pals, Nishads, Nais, Mallahs, and Prajapatis. The party is confident of its OBC-centric approach in U.P. since Rahul Gandhi's recurrent pitch for a caste census during the party's campaign to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was moderately successful. Similarly, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has started organising OBC cadre camps in various Assembly constituencies across the State in a bid to attract the OBCs, especially groups that are extremely backward and which used to vote for the party along with Dalits in the 1990s and 2000s. The party is keen to remind OBC voters about the welfare measures launched for the segment by previous BSP governments under Mayawati. The reports of these cadre camps will be analysed at the party's State headquarters. The focus on OBCs by the BSP, considered to be a Dalit-centric party, is evident from the party's choices for leadership: State president Vishwanath Pal, for instance, belongs to the Gadariya (OBC) community. In 1995 and 1997, Bhagwat Pal and Dayaram Pal, two OBC leaders, were at the helm of the party in the State and played a significant role in helping the BSP make inroads within OBC groups and dent the Mandal formula of the Samajwadi Party (SP). The BSP today is a shell of its past. The party won just one seat in the 2022 Assembly polls and secured a vote share of just 12.8%. Given its downfall, it is keen to occupy the Opposition space through its OBC outreach and prevent the SP from making the State a bi-polar political battlefield. The main rivals on the U.P. political chessboard — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the SP — are also making attempts to garner the support of these social segments. SP president Akhilesh Yadav recently held meetings in Lucknow with social and political organisations of the Noniya and Rajbhar OBC groups. He promised them a slew of progressive measures if elected to power in the 2027 Assembly polls. Mr. Yadav also promised to build a statue of Maharaja Suheldev, considered an icon by the Rajbhar community, along the Gomti river in Lucknow. The SP has constantly emphasised that it is the party's PDA (Pichhda, Dalits and Alpsankhyak — meaning, backward castes, Dalits, and minority communities, respectively) plank and demand for a caste census that has pushed the BJP government to include caste enumeration in the 2027 Census. The BJP, which has been saying that its decision to include caste enumeration at the national level shows the party's push for social justice and upliftment of the OBCs, has been giving a lion's share of its organisational posts to OBC leaders. In its district president list, announced recently, the BJP had 25 OBC presidents. Of them, five are Kurmis, two are Lodhs, two are Mauryas, and one each is from the Yadav, Kushwaha, Rajbhar, Pal, Saini, Kashyap and Vaishya communities. The Kurmis are numerically significant among the OBCs; they constitute roughly 4% of the State's population. Last week, former minister and a prominent OBC face, Swami Prasad Maurya, launched a political front called Lok Morcha. This comprises nine small parties, led mostly by OBC leaders. The parties have coined the slogan, 'Jiski jitni sankha bhari, uski utni hissedari' (representation according to population), which is an old cry of OBC-centred parties. Evidently, no party is leaving any stone unturned to woo the OBCs.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
UP Congress pushes caste census, begins statewide outreach
Sharpening its pitch on caste-based representation ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the Congress on Saturday launched a month-long statewide campaign demanding a caste census and an increase in the reservation cap beyond 50%. The campaign, titled 'Bhagidari Nyay Sammelan', was flagged off in Lucknow by Anil Jaihind, chairman of the All India Congress Committee's OBC department. Senior leaders, including UP Congress chief Ajay Rai and state in-charge Avinash Pandey, were present at the launch, which saw a renewed focus on outreach to Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and minority communities. 'The BJP has failed to connect with OBCs, and the Bihar elections will expose this disconnect ahead of the 2027 UP polls,' Jaihind said. 'Unless OBCs have a role in administration, they will continue to be left behind. The hunger for participation is real.' Currently, UP has 79 OBC castes recognised as socially and educationally backwards, up from 55 in 1977 when OBC reservations were first introduced in the state, following the Mandal Commission's recommendations. As part of the campaign, the Congress plans to conduct village-level chaupals and hold awareness drives in both rural and urban regions. The objective, leaders said, is to sensitise people about the need for a caste-based census and equitable representation in government jobs and educational institutions. 'We will protest against the atrocities and exploitation of backwards classes across the state,' Manoj Yadav, chairperson of the UP Congress OBC department, said. The party leadership has also endorsed Rahul Gandhi's call for implementing a caste census model similar to Telangana's. 'The BJP won't conduct a caste census in the right manner. Our party supports the Telangana model and we'll fight for Rahul Gandhi's mission, to ensure rights are distributed based on population,' state Congress president Ajay Rai, said. The event's backdrop featured portraits of prominent social justice icons from various ideologies, including Karpuri Thakur, Jagdev Prasad Kushwaha, Savitri Bai Phule, Sahuji Maharaj, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and Arjun Singh, signalling an inclusive message. The campaign will continue till July 14, with party workers expected to engage local communities in discussions around representation and caste data, issues that are fast emerging as political flashpoints ahead of the next state elections. Pradeep Narwal, joint in-charge for UP, and other senior leaders also participated in Saturday's proceedings. Congress begins zonal reviews in state Meanwhile, the UP Congress on Saturday began its zonal review exercise, starting with the West Zone, covering 14 districts including Saharanpur, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad, and Moradabad. AICC general secretary and UP in-charge Avinash Pande said the party structure would be built at five levels over the next 100 days to prepare for the upcoming panchayat and assembly elections. 'Our organisation must reflect the call for social justice given by Rahul Gandhi, with fair representation for women, Dalits, backwards classes, and minorities,' he said. State Congress chief Ajay Rai, CLP leader Aradhana Mishra, and other senior leaders reviewed the performance of local units and coordinators. The zonal reviews will continue across other regions in the coming weeks.
