With an eye on 2017, BJP returns to caste politics

Amid the frenetic pace of ongoing election campaigns, the BJP on Thursday signalled a return to the caste-Hindutva plank by projecting OBC and Scheduled Caste leaders as Presidents of five States, three of which go the polls next year.

This is a change from the strategy followed during Assembly elections in the immediate aftermath of the Lok Sabha polls, where local caste equations were ignored, ostensibly because of an overt focus on the “development” plank.

In Maharashtra, for instance, Devendra Fadnavis, a Brahmin, was elected Chief Minister after decades of Maratha and OBC domination in the State. Similarly, in Haryana, the BJP appointed Manohar Lal Khattar, a Punjabi Khatri for the first time in a State dominated by Jats.

But in the selection of candidates for the critical election in Uttar Pradesh next year, the BJP has gone back to the tried and tested formula of backing an OBC leader with strong Hindutva credentials – on the lines of Kalyan Singh, Vinay Katiyar and Uma Bharati. Singh, a Lodh OBC, became the face of Ramjanmabhoomi movement in the 1990s. Vinay Katiyar, a former Bajrang Dal activist, too was known for his fiery anti-Muslim rhetoric and alleged involvement in the demolition of the Babri mosque.

In the same tradition, the BJP chose as its UP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya, an OBC leader known for his involvement in the cow-protection movement, besides a number of criminal charges including murder and promoting enmity between groups.

Maurya was picked over Lal Bahadur Shastri’s grandson Sidharth Nath Singh in the 2014 elections to contest the prestigious Phulpur seat in UP, once represented by Jawaharlal Nehru.

Maurya belongs to a community of vegetable growers in UP who can also be referred to as Kushwahas in different parts of the State. The BJP is experimenting with the Kushwahas because it cannot attract the most predominant caste among the OBCs – the Yadavs, who are traditional followers of Mulayam Singh Yadav and the Samajwadi Party.

Among other communities classified as OBCs, the BJP has a number of Kurmi leaders such as Vinay Katiyar and Om Prakash Singh, in addition to having a tie-up with Apna Dal, a Kurmi party. Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharati belong to the Lodh community, also OBC. Kushwahas represent a hitherto untapped sub-group among the OBCs.

In Punjab, a State with a high percentage of Dalit voters which also goes to polls in 2017, the party appointed SC leader and Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla. The BJP knows it cannot stake claim to the dominant Jat-Sikh communities owing to the strong presence of the Akali Dal as well as the popular appeal of State Congress chief and scion of the Patiala royal family Amarinder Singh. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is making a concerted appeal to the Dalits and the BJP does not want to be left behind.

In Karnataka, former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa is back as BJP State President. Besides the fact that the veteran LK. Advani’s objections against Yeddyurappa being unfit for the job (owing to his indictment in the illegal mining scam by the Karnataka Lokayukta) not being relevant anymore, his appointment also suggests an appeal to the dominant OBC community of Lingayats in Karnataka.

In Telangana, sitting party MLA and backward leader K Lakshman, who impressed the party with his remark about Sania Mirza being the “daughter-in-law of Pakistan”, has been made BJP President. Lakshman made these widely-criticised remarks against the tennis icon in the context of her being appointed brand ambassador for Telangana State.

In Arunachal Pradesh, BJP’s national executive member Tapir Gao has been appointed State President. Gao had lost the Lok Sabha election to the Congress in 2014.