Congress sets its poll line, bats for caste census

The high-stakes state elections are crucial pit-stops for both the Congress and BJP before the Lok Sabha elections in April-May 2024, especially for the main Opposition party, as a win in the two states it holds and coming to power in another would help it position itself as the dominant player within the INDIA alliance, and strengthen its hands in the seat-sharing sweepstakes.

The party seems to be banking hard on the OBC card, projecting caste census as a “powerful step” for the emancipation of the poor, which would “open a new paradigm for development”. Attacking the “Jitni aabadi, utna haq” slogan, Modi had said that for the BJP, the only caste is the poor.

The CWC — whose meeting coincided with the EC poll schedule announcement Monday — spent most of the time sharpening the Congress’s social justice plank. A resolution passed at the meeting said that if voted to power at the Centre, the party will conduct a nationwide caste census as part of the normal decadal Census, which was due in 2021 but has been postponed.

The party also said it will “implement 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies at the earliest, while ensuring adequate representation for women belonging to SCs, STs and OBCs”.It said the “obstacles” imposed on the Census and Lok Sabha seat delimitation by the Modi government will be removed. Besides, the party said, it “will remove the cap of 50% through legislation for the reservation of OBCs, SCs and STs, in line with the commensurate share of population”.

Earlier, the CWC, at its meeting in Hyderabad on September 15-16, had called for increasing the existing upper limit of reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs.

Addressing  a press conference after the CWC meeting, where the party’s four chief ministers were present, Rahul Gandhi stressed that three of them are from OBC communities, while pointing out that the BJP has only one OBC CM (among 10). “And he (Shivraj Singh Chouhan) won’t remain CM in a few days,” he said.

Rahul claimed PM Modi is incapable of getting a caste census done, as he does not work for the welfare of OBCs. “The RSS and Modi have put in place a system to distract attention of OBCs, Dalits and tribals from the truth regarding their representation. And Modi is the main instrument… Unka yahi kaam hai ki Bhaiya, OBC ki bhagidari na ho… dhyan idhar-udhar jaata jaaye (His job is to ensure that the attention of OBCs is diverted, so that they don’t get their due).”

The CWC resolution said: “The Modi government has cheated the OBC communities and other deprived sections of the country by not releasing the data of the 2011 Socio Economic and Caste Census and not carrying out a fresh caste census. It has also failed in its constitutional duty by inordinately postponing the decadal Census that ought to have been conducted in 2021 or soon thereafter.”

It said the final figures of the Bihar caste survey have revealed the disparity between share in population and representation, and highlighted the urgent need to take effective steps to ensure social justice. A nationwide caste census, it said, will reveal an accurate picture of the socio-economic position of communities across the country, and provide a sound, data-driven basis for policies to strengthen the foundations of social justice, and ensure inclusive development.

Addressing the CWC, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked party workers to work in tandem, with discipline and unity, and put in all their might to win the Assembly elections. While supporting caste census and the need for representation for OBC communities, sources said a couple of members — including Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Jitendra Singh — urged the party to be careful, as the ruling BJP could try and portray that the party was indifferent to the interests of other castes. When one member pointed out that the party should talk about the situation of SCs and STs, Rahul pointed out that the party is not against anyone, and that the census is for all.

He admitted that some parties in the INDIA alliance may have a “slightly different position” on caste census. “That is fine, we are flexible… But I’m confident the majority of the alliance is going to support a caste census,” he said.