BJP plays up PM Narendra Modi’s caste to woo Teli voters

Also, leader of the Opposition in the Bihar assembly Nand Kishore Yadav said the Teli community had given the country a “worthy son” in the form of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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At the meeting, which was attended by Vaishya community leaders from across Bihar and Assam, Sushil Kumar Modi said: “The NDA government in Bihar had discussed the issue of giving EBC status to the Teli community nearly three years ago. But, Nitish Kumar had said that it should be done before the assembly polls. His government’s efforts now to divide the community won’t be successful.”

He added: “It could be possible only in a party like the BJP that Narendra Modi, hailing from the Teli community and with the background of a tea-seller, rose to become the PM. The BJP would continue to give due respect to the community”. Modi said four members from the community were elected to the Bihar Legislative Council recently.

Teli or Sahu is one of main castes under Vaishya, which has over seven per cent population in Bihar. Vaishyas are considered traditional voters of the BJP.

Yadav, on the other hand, said: “The JD (U) cabinet does not have any minister from the Teli community, which has given a worthy son to the country in the form of PM Narendra Modi. The community has also given a Chief Minister like Raghuvar Das. BJP and the Teli community are inseparable”.

Stating that Nitish Kumar’s OBC and social justice politics was a “sham”, Yadav said the JD(U) leader left the NDA because Modi, a backward leader, was chosen for the PM seat. “Nitish’s social justice politics is a sham,” said Yadav, raising the caste pitch in the run up to Assembly polls in which caste and development have emerged as the key issues.

Jharkhand CM Raghuvar Das himself refrained from speaking on caste lines. “The Nitish government has been reduced to a circus. Jharkhand, which has has less political awareness than Bihar, has supported BJP. It is natural that people in Bihar will choose the NDA.”