Not too long ago, both the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar were trying to own the caste-based survey that last year revealed that the Economically Backward Classes (EBCs) were the largest social bloc in the state at 36.1% of the population. Based on it, the Mahagathbandhan government with the JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar as Chief Minister quickly announced a hike in quota for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and EBCs from 50% to 65%. But since Nitish Kumar returned to the NDA in January, the caste survey and demand for a nationwide caste census, which had been emerging as the main poll plank for the Opposition, have been put on the back burner. On the ground, the caste census demand does not seem to be finding any resonance as people discuss candidates and their castes, welfare measures, the image of India abroad, unemployment and price rise. Nitish Kumar who had backed the caste survey and led a campaign around it for the last three years has not mentioned it at all. Instead, he is back to his tried and tested theme of “misrule versus good governance”. A senior JD(U) leader in Munger said, "Munger has a lot of EBC votes. We know that barring a few, most of them will vote in PM Modi's name. Nitish Kumar's speeches are drafted in a manner in which he can continue to compare the Lalu Prasad-Rabri Devi regimes, which were rife with misgovernance and massacres, with Nitish Kumar's 'good governance'. We know it is hackneyed, but it is still working.” The local JD(U) leader said Modi's name alone unites EBC, Dalit, and women voters because of the Centre's various labharthi (beneficiary) schemes, from free rations and Ayushman health cards to Ujjawala LPG connections. “JD(U) and BJP candidates are campaigning on Modi's name as they know the Opposition will find it difficult to attract any social group beyond Muslims and Yadavs,” he said. An hour-and-a-half away, in Bhagalpur district’s Sultanganj town, autorickshaw driver Amrendra Mandal said, “I can earn Rs 400-500 per day by plying an autorickshaw only because the roads, including in villages, are good. I am self-employed only because the state's infrastructure has developed.” One of the few people who mentioned the caste survey, Mukesh Ram, a worker from Bhagalpur, said: "Will the poor families get Rs 2 lakh per year as announced by Nitish Kumar after the release of the caste survey?” Up north in Muzzafarpur, Rajesh Sahani, a 35-year-old schoolteacher said: "Nitish Kumar had been talking about the caste survey when he was in the INDIA. But he is back in the NDA, because he knows only the Modi factor works.” BJP OBC Morcha national general secretary Nikhil Anand emphasised that Narendra Modi was the “lone factor” in this election. “We do not need any other issue. Modi alone represents the cumulative aspirations of all social groups.” Though Congress leader Rahul Gandhi still keeps bringing up the need for a nationwide caste census as “an X-ray of society”, on the campaign trail his ally and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav has stuck to talking about his party’s role in creating new jobs when in power. "This is a national election. The NDA wants the fight to be between Modi and others. The Mahagathbandhan believes migration and jobs are the real issues. Our leaders are drawing good crowds," said an RJD leader. Conversations across the state suggest caste remains an important indicator of voter preferences in Bihar. But voters are not interested in caste census as a demand. Rather, caste is playing out locally, with pro-RJD Yadavs and pro-BJP upper castes clearly committed to their respective sides. When a group of two Yadavs and a Paswan from Gausganj in Bhojpur district’s Arrah, which has significant populations of both communities, were asked about caste census, one of them, Keshav Yadav, said, “Jati ek sach hai, par ab tak jan ganana par kuchh charcha nahin hai yahaan (Caste is a reality here but there is no discussion on a caste census here).” As for EBCs, the Pachpanias — as EBCs are called in most parts of Bihar — The Indian Express talked to, appeared to be Modi supporters and supporters of the labharthi schemes. One of them, 45-year-old Ashok Bind who is employed in a private firm and registered as a voter in Patna, said, “Since 2014, EBCs have largely voted NDA. Nitish Kumar also has an EBC constituency, but leaders like Mukesh Sahani (Vikassheel Insaan Party chief) are under the false impression that EBCs are with him en bloc. The reality is that there are 130-odd EBC castes, and most of them are attracted by the NDA’s labharthi schemes.” Daily wager Chulhai Paswan, a Dalit from Bairgachhi village of Purnia, said, "Free ration is a winning scheme. Jo khana de raha hai, usko to support karna hi chahiye (one who is supplying food must be supported).”
