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Journalism of Courage
In a decision announced Thursday that is likely to pay rich dividends to the BJP in the coming rural polls in Haryana, the state government has extended reservation in panchayat seats to communities falling in Backward Classes (A) category.
The Manohar Lal Khattar government has approved an amendment in the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, to bring the change, with rural polls set to be announced anytime soon.
The A category is a sub-group that contains the most backward among the Backward Classes, more akin to some SC/ST groups. The Backward Classes (B) category in Haryana consists of the more dominant groups in the state such as the Yadavs, Ahirs, Sainis, Gujjars, Meos etc.
Of the 78 groups included in Backward Classes in Haryana, over 70 fall in the A category.
The Haryana move comes at a time when the BJP has in other states too identified targeting of sub-groups among OBCs as a smart poll strategy – doing so in Karnataka and poll-bound Gujarat now, after Uttar Pradesh.
Any party that captures panchayat seats in Haryana holds a big advantage in the state as around 65% of its population is estimated to live in rural areas. The BJP, which is placed in a comfortable position as the Congress has more or less decided not to contest the elections on the party symbol, is looking to expand its footprint in the rural areas. The BJP is considered a largely urban party, with its ally Jannayak Janata Party and the INLD strong in the villages.
Congress leader and former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda too had incidentally been demanding reservation for backward classes in panchayati raj institutions. With the BJP government stealing a march on the matter, Hooda accused the party of using this to deliberately delay the panchayat polls. “Due to this delay and the absence of panchayat representatives, development in villages has come to a standstill and there is a lot of corruption,” Hooda said, while adding that he was all for ensuring rights of backward classes.
Panchayat elections in the state have been due for two years now, with the initial delay on account of Covid restrictions. The Khattar government has said that once the Governor gives his approval to the amendment on the reservation, it would write to the Election Commission to hold the polls.
Announcing reservations for Backward Classes (A) in the panchayat seats Thursday, Khattar said: “Now if there is even 2% Backward Class (A) population in a village, at least one member from among them will definitely be elected as a panchayat member.”
A senior BJP leader said the party hopes the move will nullify the impact of the year-long farmers’ agitation and the recent decision to hand over village common land occupied by villagers back to panchayats. “The reservation will minimise the damage from these decisions in the Lok Sabha as well as the Vidhan Sabha polls of 2024, and reduce our dependence on the JJP. It would also placate the backward classes who were seeking better representation in elected bodies,” the leader said.
Khattar said the reservation was in line with recent Supreme Court directions regarding political reservation in panchayati raj institutions to backward classes.
The rural polls will be a second big test for the BJP, after the June municipal elections where the party had scored big, claiming the president’s post in 22 of 33 municipal councils it contested. Its ally JJP bagged three seats, taking their tally to 25 in the 46 municipal councils for which polls were held. The Aam Aadmi Party and INLD had managed to win just one municipal body president seat each, while the Congress had not contested on party symbol. Independents claimed 19 seats.
