BJP blunts opposition strategy ahead of elections? Party plans OBC survey against caste census campaign
The ‘Caste Survey Campaign’ is the opposition’s biggest weapon in the elections. Now it appears that the BJP is making an attempt to dilute the opposition’s strategy as the party plans for an OBC poll. Knowing more..
New Delhi: The 2023 State Assembly Elections in five states namely Mizoram, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have started and the political parties are also gearing up for the Lok Sabha elections early next year. It is a big ‘weapon’ that the opposition party uses as part of their election manifesto ‘Caste counting campaign’ while the ruling party Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has always been against it. But now it seems that the ruling party is willing to tone down the opposition’s strategy as they probably think it could be a good option to OBC Questionnaire. With opposition parties pushing the caste census and trying to make it a major poll, the BJP is devising a strategy to counter their narrative with a meeting at the party headquarters where it is decided to plan a major outreach to the OBC community , sources said.
BJP plans to conduct OBC poll against opposition’s caste census campaign
As mentioned earlier, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning an OBC poll against the then opposition’s caste census survey. According to sources, the BJP is “serious” about countering the opposition narrative. “The BJP is planning a major program to reach out to the OBC community. Party leaders will go to the members of the OBC community and tell them about the initiatives of the BJP-led government and also the party for OBCs,” a party leader said.
Union Minister Amit Shah’s comments on the caste census
While the BJP plans an OBC survey ahead of the elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah comments on it after the Central Election Commission meeting. At a press conference in Raipur, Chhattisgarh said: “We do not practice politics of appeasement for votes. We will take an appropriate decision (on the caste census) after consultation (within the party). The BJP has never opposed caste census, but decisions should be taken after due consideration.”
He further reiterated this in Bihar and said, “They (Grand Alliance) have tried to portray themselves as champions of OBCs through this report. But Nitish Kumar must remember that when the decision was taken to conduct the caste survey, the BJP was part of the state government… The survey increased the number of Muslims and Yadavs, while the number of EBCs (Extremely Backward Classes) decreased. It happened under pressure from Lalu Prasad (of the RJD).”