The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) relies on the support of a rainbow coalition of castes, including Dalits, who were not traditionally seen as part of its base of support, to ensure the return of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to power. in the next elections to the Bihar assembly.
The party has allocated 50% of the seats to contestants from the so-called non-upper castes, reinforcing their acceptance among caste groups, a senior BJP official said on Sunday. The party has also featured 51 candidates from the Kayastha, Rajput, Bhumihar and Brahmin communities who belong to the upper castes that are traditionally seen as supporters of the BJP.
“Of the 110 names announced so far, 50 are from the Dalit, Mahadalit and ST (programmed tribe) communities. We have the support of each of these communities for the BJP’s pro-development policies, ”said the official, requesting anonymity.
With Mahadalit leader and former Prime Minister Jitin Ram Manjhi and his Hindustani Awam Morcha {HAM} and Mukesh Sahni from the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) joining the NDA, which also has Janarta Dal (United), or JD (U) in between its constituents, the BJP says the alliance has an appeal that transcends caste lines.
“The BJP believes in the empowerment of all castes and groups and has a broader social base compared to other political parties,” said Bihar’s national secretary general and in charge, Bhupender Yadav.
The support of the Dalits and the i Other Backward Classes (OBC) is not the only reason for the BJP’s optimism about its performance in the three-phase elections spread between October 28, November 3 and November 7.
The party also believes that the so-called lower castes are distancing themselves from the opposition Mahagathbandhan, or grand alliance comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress and Left parties.
“There are four important social groups, the Mahadalits, the EBC {economically backward classes}, the OBC and the tribes; and all these have left the Mahagathbandhan. The Mahadalits are with the BJP; RLSP {Rashtriya Lok Samta Party} representing the CBOs left the alliance, the EBCs (VIPs) said they were stabbed in the back and the JMM {Jharkhand Mukti Morcha}, representing the STs, has also stayed away. This is an indication that the aspirations of these communities cannot be satisfied by any other entity than the NDA, ”said the official quoted above.
EBCs representing 30% of the electorate are among the most courted voters. While the BJP has awarded five seats to EBC candidates, it also awarded 11 seats out of its share of 121 to the VIP. In 2015, the BJP awarded 25 seats to EBC candidates, of which 12 won.
The CBOs that make up 22% of the electorate have been sent to 15 constituencies in an attempt to create a dent in the RJD vote bank.
The NDA is expected to benefit from the BJP’s large upper caste vote count and JD (U) influence with EBC and OBC voters.
The JD (U) focus on the Mahadalits is expected to give the NDA a chance. There are about 100 seats, where Dalits and Mahadalites dominate. And the NDA will take full advantage of a recent Supreme Court ruling that SCs and STs are not a homogeneous group and states may consider subcategory of these groups.
Since the 2014 general elections, there is a perception that the BJP has been trying to shed its party image of Brahmins and Baniyas; which is why he has made assiduous attempts to woo non-dominant CBOs.
“The BJP development agenda prevails over castes. Unlike the BSP or the RJD who thrived on caste consolidation and were not ashamed to serve only Dalits, Yadavs and Muslims; the BJP chose to focus on the empowerment of all and the winners of the candidates, ”said a second BJP official.
The second official said that even the JD (U) and the Lok Jan Shakti Party that were considered biased to the CBOs, Dalits and Muslims have submitted 18 and 16 upper caste candidates and the RJD has 12 upper caste contestants.
Commenting on the BJP’s outreach towards the Dalits, OBC and EBC, political commentator and Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Ajay Gudavarthy said: “Under the leadership of Amit Shah, BJP moved beyond the Brahmin-Bania base and extended it to the Dalits and OBC not Yadav by giving them greater representation. This makes his pan-Hindu claims really solid. Not offering seats to Muslims gives them this ironic advantage of having more seats to spare for different sections of the Hindus, unlike the Mahagatbandhan. It also makes it an exclusive Hindu holiday. ”
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