The recent statement of an RSS leader in Maharashtra denouncing caste census, and then a senior Sangh leader taking a more nuanced position saying it could be undertaken for the “overall development of society”, has brought the focus on how the BJP deals with the issue in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
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As the Opposition tried to make the caste census its central plank in November, the BJP at the national level maintained an ambivalent stand on the matter. On November 2, while addressing the media in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the BJP had never opposed caste census but decisions would have to be “taken after careful thought”. Meanwhile, the party has already started with its efforts to reach out to its large OBC voter base, deploying different strategies and leaders in different states.
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The OBC vote is critical to the BJP base in Maharashtra and it is one of the few states where the party leaders have categorically said they are open to a caste census. To avoid any controversy on the topic, the state unit is learnt to have conveyed to its leaders and party workers at a recent meeting not to “make any contradictory statements” on the caste census given that it is also dealing with the Maratha reservation issue.
OBCs are a base the BJP has carefully won over in Maharashtra. In the 1980s, party ideologue Vasantrao Bhagwat advocated reaching out to the Mali, Dhangar and Vanjari communities to shed the Bharatiya Jana Sangh’s image of an “upper-caste” party.
The decision to focus on the OBCs was tactical to make inroads into a state controlled by the Congress, which enjoyed the support of the numerically dominant Marathas. The strategy paid off as the party grew in the state from double-digit seats in the 1980s to 105 seats in 2019. Under the Narendra Modi wave, the party won 23 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and repeated the feat in 2019.
What BJP leaders have said
State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who is the party’s OBC face, said, “We have never said no to OBC caste census. We have always been open about the issue.”
At its Jan Jagar Yatra held in the Vidarbha region between October and November to reach out to its core OBC base in light of the Maratha demand for reservation, Bawankule and former BJP MLA Ashish Deshmukh spoke in favour of a caste census. Deshmukh said, “The caste census is necessary to quantify the exact number of OBCs. It is an exercise which is long awaited. The government should conduct the caste census. It will be useful and put to rest a lot of disputes and misunderstandings.”
Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis has, on multiple occasions, said he is “not against the caste census” and is “positive about it”. He has, however, raised questions about the methodology of conducting such an exercise, saying, “We are in favour of the caste census. It was never opposed. But what needs to be determined is what methodology should be adopted in carrying out the mammoth exercise.”
The Deputy CM has argued, “The process has to be flawless. So, we have to study and consult experts.” In Bihar, he said, “the caste census came under question from several communities”.
BJP chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhya said, “What Devendra Fadnavis has expressed is our official stand. The party is open to caste census. But there should be adequate deliberations and study on the methods to be adopted to avoid discrepancies.”
There are over 250 OBC sub-castes in Maharashtra, said a party leader, arguing that the methodology had to be foolproof.
The ruling dispensation of the BJP, Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP also has to deal with the Maratha reservation demand, with activist Manoj Jarange-Patil still pushing for the demand (on Saturday, he pushed back his deadline to January 20). In this scenario, the BJP has to be careful with how it positions itself on any matter related to a caste survey, particularly where enumeration and data are concerned.
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