In Bihar, JD(U), RJD in overdrive to take mileage out of caste survey at grassroots

The BJP, on its part, is following the line taken by PM Modi that such demands are being made to “divide” Hindus. Speaking to The Indian Express, BJP leader and ex-Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Modi said that while the BJP is not against the idea of a caste census, an all-India caste census was “logistically next to impossible”.

In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, while the JD(U) has incorporated the caste survey in its statewide programme of “Karpoori Charcha” (discussions on the thoughts of Karpoori Thakur), the RJD, through its “Ambedkar Paricharcha” (discussions on the thoughts of Ambedkar), has started to project alleged discrimination against lower classes by the BJP dispensation.

Also, to give the caste survey its own stamp of legitimacy and highlight the role of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in making it happen, the JD(U) will organise a series of events across the state to “thank the CM”. The first such event was organised in Patna on Friday. The party intends to take it to the district level in the coming days.

“All party workers and leaders, including the party chief, gathered at the Karpoori Sabhaghar [part of the JD(U)’s Patna office] Friday to thank the CM for making the caste survey happen. If Karpoori Thakur gave EBCs (Extremely Backward Classes) the status of a special category, it is Nitish Kumar who gave them social and political power. It has also been decided that this programme will be taken to the district-level and events thanking the CM will be organised across the state. Through these events, we will also demand from the Centre that a caste census be conducted across the country,” JD(U) spokesperson Rabindra Prasad Singh said.

“Karpoori Charchas”, named after socialist icon and ex-Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur, who was regarded as the pioneer of OBC (Other Backward Classes) and EBC reservations in the country, are being held across the state since August. The JD(U) has formed seven separate teams under senior party leaders, including Thakur’s son Ramnath Thakur, a Rajya Sabha MP. They have been asked to visit each of Bihar’s 243 Assembly constituencies and complete the discussion series by January 24, 2024, which will also mark the birth centenary of Karpoori Thakur.

“In these events we’ve already been talking about issues related to EBCs, and what this (Nitish-led) government has done for the disadvantaged sections of society. Now we have added to the programme the caste survey and the benefits that will accrue to the people on its account. We are also reminding people of how the Modi government had stalled the caste census, which was against the rights of the EBCs,” Singh said.

The party is also distributing pamphlets during these functions, which, apart from listing Nitish’s work for EBCs, allege that the Centre has been “politically humiliating” the EBCs by allegedly stopping scholarships and other schemes for them. It is also making a demand for Bharat Ratna for Karpoori Thakur, which is supported by Deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

The RJD’s “Ambedkar Paricharcha” event has been running since April. While the programme is seen to be an attempt to reach out to the Dalit community – which once stood behind RJD chief Lalu Yadav only to rally round Nitish later – it highlights all deprived communities.

“The foundation of the social revolution that framers of the Constitution had laid down, was based on the principle of “Bahujan Hitaye, Bahujan Sukhaye”, which is taken from Buddhism. This is being destroyed by the Modi government. That’s what we are telling people in our programmes. For us, the ideal India is Samrat Ashok’s reign,” RJD national spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta said. He added that the programme has been taken to the panchayat level and is currently in its last phase.

The Mauryan dynasty emperor Ashok has lately been turned into a political figure, with various social and political groups claiming him to be an OBC from the Koeri community with a Shudra lineage.

The RJD is also organising gram chaupals, through which it is talking about the caste survey. “We are talking about social justice in these gatherings… how to bring extremely backward classes into the mainstream. We are also telling people how the Centre has been stalling a nationwide caste census, and how we have brought out a caste survey,” said Bihar RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari.

Both the JD(U) and RJD, key constituents of Bihar’s Mahagathbandhan, are also part of the Opposition INDIA grouping, which has been formed at the national level to take on the Modi-led BJP in the 2024 polls.