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New Delhi, October 24 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tribute to the legacy of former Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur while launching the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) campaign for the Bihar Assembly elections from Karpoori village.
PM Modi has repeatedly praised Thakur’s work in the society for social justice and empowering the marginalized sections. It was the Modi-led NDA government that last year decided to confer the highest civilian award of Bharat Ratna on the famous socialist leader from Bihar. And in July this year, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav had laid the foundation stone for the development of Karpurigram station with a budget of about Rs 3.30 crore.
Pitonjhia, in the Samastipur district of Bihar, might have remained another obscure place had it not been Thakur’s birthplace. It was renamed Karpuri Gram (or Karpuri Gaon) in honor of the “Jan Nayak (people’s leader)” after his death in 1988.
The venue was aimed at reassuring regional leaders, coalition partners and caste leaders that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recognizes local icons and grievances. It provided outreach to people who have traditionally looked to leaders like Karpoori Thakur for social and economic solutions.
Incidentally, Thakur’s elder son, Ram Nath, represents NDA constituent Janata Dal (United) in the Rajya Sabha. Thus, the decision to launch the Prime Minister’s election campaign from Karpurigram was not all about elections and politics.
Thakur is remembered as a champion of social justice and pro-reservation politics in Bihar, and holding the inaugural rally there sends the message that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) intends to fight the elections not only on development narratives but also in the arena of social identity and backward class politics.
He became Chief Minister in December 1970 as leader of the Socialist Party, but his tenure did not last long, ending in about five months.
Thakur worked very closely with Jayaprakash Narayan during the anti-Emergency movement of the seventies. After the Janata Party came to power, Thakur became the Chief Minister of Bihar for the second time in June 1977. He decided to implement the Mungeri Lal Commission report, recommending reservations for backward castes in government jobs. This drew strong criticism among some sections, resulting in his ouster less than two years into his second term.
Today, Bihar’s caste survey results have highlighted the importance of backward groups in the state, which political parties are wooing for their mandate. According to the survey, Other Backward Classes (OBCs), which include both Backward Castes (BCs) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), constitute more than 63 percent of Bihar’s population. Among these, EBC’s share is about 36 percent.
With around 112 sub-castes, they can influence the election results in around 120 assembly constituencies, especially in Mithila, Magadh and Seemanchal (border) areas. Meanwhile, the survey pegged the number of Yadavs at 14.26 per cent, Muslims at 17.7 per cent and upper castes at 15.52 per cent of the state’s population.
Political leaders from all sections, including Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar, have counted on EBC support. In the 1990s, Lalu included the EBC in his Muslim-Yadav (MY) equation to challenge upper caste dominance, but over time, the EBC was sidelined as Yadav influence grew.
Current Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar has provided reservation for EBCs in jobs and education, including local governance, and introduced welfare measures such as bicycles for school girls and scholarships for Mahadalits, which has helped the NDA secure its position in the state.
By inaugurating the campaign in Karpoorigram, the Prime Minister has paid tribute to the state’s social justice legacy that has neutralized the opposition’s claim as the sole protector of the backward classes.
–IANS
JB/DPB