The BJP on Tuesday made a bid to prevent the Bihar polls from turning into a “forward-backwa-rd caste” contest by ruling out the possibility of the NDA anoin-ting any “ sawarna (upper caste)” legislator as Chief Minister.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who himself belongs to the dominant Bhumihar community, reiterated that in case of an NDA victory in Bihar, only a member of either the Extremely Backward Caste or the Other Backward Class community would occupy the top post.
“No upper caste [person] can become the Chief Minister of Bihar. It is certain that when NDA comes to power, the next CM will either be from the OC or EBC community,” said Singh.
Singh is a controversial politician infamous for his objectionable remarks against Congress President Sonia Gandhi and demanding during the General Elections that anyone who does not vote for Narendra Modi should be “packed off to Pakistan”. He has made similar comments earlier this year about the unlikelihood of a member of a forward caste becoming CM.
Lalu’s tirade But seen in the light of the Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad’s remarks that the ongoing elections in Bihar is “Mandal Part II” and a battle between “forward and backward” castes, Singh’s remarks are being perceived as a move to undo the projection of the BJP as a “ sawarna ” party.
Another factor that has caused worry within the BJP are RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s comments about re-examining the reservation policy. Although the BJP has categorically denied that any such move is afoot, the rival Mahagatbandhan, especially Prasad, has used these remarks to paint the BJP as a pro-upper caste and anti-reservation party.
For the third consecutive day on Tuesday, Lalu held forth on the BJP’s “anti-reservation” credentials. “Modi, arakshan khatm karne ke liye Bhagwat ko Bharat Ratn de. Lekin pichde, Daliton, garibon ki ladayee ke liye chahe yeh log mujhe phansee de, chup nahin baithunga (Modi can award Bharat Ratna to Mohan Bhagwat for scrapping the reservation policy. But I will fight for the rights of the Dalits, backwards and the poor, even if they hang me),” Lalu said in a series of tweets on Tuesday.
“Modi UN jakar mere khilaf petition de, lekin mai garibon ki ladai ladte ladte, aarakshan badhwa kar, jatiya jangananaprakashit karwa kar hi dam loonga (Modi can petition the UN against me. But I will not rest till I ensure reservation for all the deserving poor and get them to publish the Socio-Economic Caste Census figures),” he added.
Such branding does not bode well for the BJP as in sheer numerical terms, upper caste voters do not constitute more than 15 per cent of the electorate in Bihar. What is lending further credence to Lalu’s constant efforts to turn it into a forward-backward contest is the caste profile of the NDA’s candidates. There are as many as 35 Rajputs and 29 Bhumihars in the NDA’s list of projected candidates, a much higher number than its rival coalition even excluding the Brahmins, Kayasthas and Vaishyas.