Why is the BJP going ahead with a quota-within-a-quota model despite the displeasure of allies like Chirag?

Less than three months have passed since the Supreme Court decided on intra-quota quotas and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already taken steps in this direction. In its first cabinet meeting, the newly formed Nabu Singh Saini government in Haryana decided to separate castes who are less represented in education and employment by creating a sub-category for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes included in it. Haryana’s decision is also seen as a message to states with NDA governments.

Prime Minister Modi has sent a message to the meeting of chief ministers of NDA government states to study each other’s plans and implement them in their respective states. The problem is that at a time when elections are going on in states like Maharashtra and Jharkhand, by-elections are going on in northern states like Bihar, and even the opposition and its allies like Chirag Paswand Openly opposed, why should BJP take action? Will sub-quota formula increase? Responding to the Haryana government’s decision, Chirag once again made it clear that the BJP (Ram Vilas) does not support the decision.

Why does the BJP rely on sub-quotas to grow?

Next year, assembly elections will be held in states like Bihar, where reservation is an emotionally charged issue. Whether it is against Chirag or the RJD-Congress, the reasons behind it are said to be caste politics and caste-based reasons, but despite opposition from its ally LJPR, about a year before the Bihar elections, the BJP has said it will go ahead with it plan. Therefore, the party also has its own strategy behind this. This can be understood from four points.

1- Electoral Impact Test

One of the BJP’s strategies is to conduct electoral tests to gauge public sentiment on certain issues. Even as the Congress became more aggressive on the issue of caste census, the BJP kept its distance from the Congress in elections in four states, including Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. This is also linked to the BJP’s strategy of estimating the electoral impact of the issue.

The election results favored the BJP and the party entered the Lok Sabha elections using the same strategy. However, it suffered defeat in states like Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections. Now, apart from the assembly elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra, by-elections are also going on in 47 assembly seats in a dozen states, including Uttar Pradesh-Bihar. If the BJP government in Haryana has taken steps on all fronts this election season, the strategy behind it is also the same.

2- Selective work by state

One of the BJP’s strategies could also be to work selectively. In states like Haryana where the BJP is less dependent on scheduled caste and scheduled tribe votes, the party can take steps in this direction. If this initiative works well in these states, the party can use it as a model in the future in states with complex caste politics like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

3- Attach importance to cultivating Dalit cadres

For the BJP, there is a “nothing to lose, nothing to gain” situation with this decision. In states like Bihar, the party is dependent on other parties for Dalit votes, while in Uttar Pradesh, too, the party does not have a strong hold on the non-Jatav Dalit vote bank. Even in Madhya Pradesh, Congress’ control over the tribal vote bank is considered strong.

Also read: Modi’s Hanuman and ‘tongue for kicking ministerial posts’… What does Chirag Paswan want to say?

In Haryana, a section of Dalits also voted for the Congress in the name of Kumari Shailaja, while parties like the BSP also registered for the elections with around 4% vote share. In this case, the BJP’s strategy is to build a cadre base like Nitish Kumar in the Scheduled Caste-Scheduled Tribe category. The party hopes that the castes that will be included in the sub-categories will also follow.

4- All categories are available in Bihar

Bihar already has Dalits and Mahadalits. Under such circumstances, this move by the Haryana government will have a greater impact on the state’s elections, perhaps the party leadership may not feel so. In fact, the Nitish Kumar-led government has classified the rest of the Dalit castes except Paswan, the core voter of the Lok Janshakti Party, under the Mahadalit umbrella. Mahadalit) category. The upshot of this was that although Jitan Ram Manjhi hailed from the Musahar community among the Mahadalit, Nitish’s influence on the vote bank of this class Control is seen as much greater than his. Now the BJP also seems to be growing on the same track as Haryana.

What did the Supreme Court decide?

The Supreme Court ruled on August 1. The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court overturned the 2004 ruling and said states have the power to set quotas within reserved quotas. The decision, taken with a 6-1 majority, cleared the way for state governments to create sub-categories for Scheduled Castes and Tribes.

Also read: ‘Trying to divide Dalits…’, Samajwadi Party supremo Mayawati fumes over Haryana’s imposition of quota-within-quota

Like the opposition parties, Union Minister Chirag Paswan, chairman of the BJP and a member of the NDA government at the Centre, also expressed his opposition to the court’s decision. Chirag’s party also supported the Bharat Bandh called by the opposition. The center later distanced itself by saying it would not take any action.

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