Maharashtra BJP looks to use Rahul Gandhi’s Modi remark to consolidate OBC base

“The OBC communities (in Maharashtra) are upset. We will hold protest rallies across the state to highlight how Rahul Gandhi has not just attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi but the entire OBC community,” Bawankule said.

After asking “Why do all thieves have Modi as their surname?”, Gandhi had named fugitive diamond tycoon Nirav Modi, former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi and the prime minister.

Bawankule said the OBCs would show Congress its place in the coming elections.

The Modi surname in Gujarat is associated with the OBC community of Telis. In Maharashtra, OBCs, which include various castes and subclasses, are entitled to a 27 per cent quota. They account for up to 50 per cent of the population and include major communities such as Mali, Dhangar, Vanjari, Banjara, Teli, Kunbi etc. The second most dominant community, both politically and economically, is Marathas, who form 30 per cent of the state’s population.

With Marathas traditionally aligned with the Congress, the BJP strategically tried to make the OBCs its vote base when the party was formed in 1980. Then BJP stalwart Vasantrao Bhagwat attempted social engineering to bring Mali, Dhangar and Vanjari communities into the party fold. The stress on the OBCs in the formative years was also part of a conscious decision taken to change the BJP’s pro-upper caste (brahmins and Baniyas) image.

Over the years the BJP has reaped political dividends by courting OBCs. Bawankule, who belongs to the Teli community, was denied by the BJP an Assembly ticket in 2019. As a result, the saffron party suffered a huge backlash in the Vidarbha region. Out of the 62 seats, it won only 29. In 2014, the BJP won 44 seats. The 15-seat loss was perceived as a backlash from the OBCs.

While BJP has rehabilitated Bawankule as its state president, its attempt to unite all OBC communities remains a daunting task.

BJP secretary Pankaja Munde, who belongs to the Vanjari community, is not happy. Her followers had wanted Munde to play an active role as leader of the Legislative Council. But the party chose to assign her a role in the central team led by J P Nadda.

In 2020 OBC leader Eknath Khadse quit the BJP to join the NCP. Khadse, who was systematically sidelined in the BJP following charges related to a land scam, was upset after the party denied him an Assembly ticket in the 2019 polls. His daughter Rohini Khadse was fielded from Muktai Nagar, which she lost to then rebel Shiv Sena candidate Chandrakant Patil.

A senior BJP vice-president said requesting anonymity, “The OBCs have a prime place in the BJP. When Devendra Fadnavis was CM and led the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition, almost one third of cabinet ministers belonged to OBCs.”

A special OBC cell was constituted to address the problems of the OBC communities.

Bawankule, minister Girish Mahajan and former minister Sanjay Kute have all been empowered as OBC leaders and have significant roles in the BJP.

BJP chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said, “Unfortunately, the Congress has not been able to give up its caste politics. Or else, why would its tallest leader make such an irresponsible statement on Modi’s surname?”

The Congress said the BJP was deliberately distorting Gandhi’s comment to divide the people along caste lines. “The BJP has sensed that OBCs, Dalits and tribals are moving away from it. So it is trying new tactics. But they will not work,” state Congress chief Nana Patole said.

The Opposition is amused at the BJP exploiting the Modi surname to reach out to the OBCs.

A senior NCP leader said, “Till 2019 elections we never saw the BJP project PM Narendra Modi as an OBC. He was always portrayed as a development man, a strong leader whose appeal transcended caste, community and religion. So what has changed in the last five years? Is Modi magic waning?”