Urbanisation is often cited as an antidote to the influence of caste in society. So, does politics rise above caste in urban pockets? Delhi is, perhaps, the only Union Territory (UT) with a large population that is almost entirely urban. How does caste play a part in Delhi elections? A look at the caste of MLAs elected in past elections and the contenders in the February 5 Assembly polls shows that it does. And when parties claim to do caste-agnostic politics, the representation becomes predominantly upper caste or of dominant castes. Delhi is, perhaps, the only UT in the country where the upper castes form the largest vote bloc, with sources from various political parties pegging the number between 35% and 40%. Of these, Brahmins make up the largest chunk, accounting for roughly 13%, followed by Rajputs (8%), Vaishyas (7%), Punjabi Khatris (5%), and the rest are other general castes. The Other Backward Classes (OBCs) along with intermediary castes such as Jats are the next big vote bloc constituting around 30% of Delhi’s electorate. Of these, Jats and Gujjars form the largest bloc accounting for almost half of the OBC voters, followed by other castes such as the Yadavs. Dalits constitute more than 16% of Delhi’s population while Muslims make up almost 13% and Sikhs 3.5%. When it comes to representation, however, the upper castes disproportionately dominate. For example, in the coming polls, of all the candidates the BJP and its allies have fielded, 45% belong to upper castes. At 48%, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has given out even more tickets to upper-caste candidates than the BJP. Only the Congress, at 35%, has kept the representation of the upper caste in its ticket distribution proportionate to their share in the population. Among the upper castes, it is again Brahmins who have cornered more tickets than their proportion in the population. The Congress has given 17% of its tickets to Brahmins while the BJP and the AAP have nominated 16% and 19% Brahmin candidates, respectively. Vaishyas are another group among the upper castes who are preferred electorally by all parties. The BJP has given more tickets to Vaishyas than any other party in the fray, with 17% of its candidates being from the community. About 13% of AAP candidates are Vaishyas while 10% of the Congress’s candidates are from the community. Rajputs have found a representation of 10% in AAP nominations and 7% in BJP tickets, while the Congress has fielded only one Rajput candidate. According to data collected by the Trivedi Centre for Political Data at Ashoka University, the upper-caste dominance has largely been present in past elections as well. For example, in the current Delhi Assembly, 50% of all MLAs are from upper castes. Of all the AAP MLAs, 40% hail from these communities, while of the seven BJP MLAs, six are from the upper castes. Since 1993, when Delhi became a UT with an Assembly, upper-caste representation has fluctuated from its lowest at 37% in 2008 to its highest in 1993 and 2020 at 50%. The representation of Brahmins has increased since the 2008 polls. In 2008, Brahmins constituted 10% of all MLAs, which increased to around 13% in 2013, and 20% in 2015 and 2020. Rajput representation too has gone up from over 1% to 4% in this period. So, while Brahmins remain over-represented, Rajputs are inching closer to their proportion in the electorate. Vaishyas have maintained a representation of 13-14% in successive Delhi polls recording a representation that is almost double their share in population. The decline in Jat and Gujjar representation Conversely, the representation of Jats and Gujjars has declined from 19% to 13% and 11% to 6% respectively between 2008 and 2020. One could argue that the two communities were over-represented in the past and their falling representation is an electoral correction informed by their dwindling influence in Delhi’s socio-politics. Jats, however, continue to wield more electoral influence than their proportion in population. This is reflected in the ticket distribution of the three parties in these polls as well. The BJP has given 14% of all its tickets to Jats, at par with the Congress (14%), followed by the AAP at 11%. Gujjars have cornered 9% each of BJP and AAP tickets and 11% of Congress tickets, reflecting the continued trust of parties in the community’s electoral influence. Overall, the Congress has given the maximum number of tickets (30%) to OBCs and intermediary castes, reflecting their overall population in Delhi. The AAP has given 25% of tickets to these caste groups while the BJP has given them 20% of its tickets. Due to reserved constituencies, the representation of Dalits in the Delhi Assembly has remained proportional to their population, at 17%, over the years. This time too, all parties have given adequate representation to Dalits in their ticket distribution. Minority representation Muslims, who have considerable influence in certain pockets of Delhi, have recorded a consistent representation of over 7% in successive Assembly polls. This, however, is significantly lower than their proportion in Delhi’s population (13%). In these polls, the Congress has fielded a maximum number of Muslim candidates at 10%, followed by the AAP at 7%. The BJP has not fielded any Muslim candidate. The representation of Sikhs has also fluctuated from 3% in 1993 to a high of 13% in 2013 and back to 3% in 2020, making it proportional to their share in the national capital’s population. In these polls, the BJP, AAP and Congress have fielded 5%, 6%, and 7% Sikh candidates, respectively.
