Patna: The BJP is worried about Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s move on the caste census issue. Disagreements among BJP leaders in Bihar over the caste census issue are also coming to light.
The BJP-RSS leadership is worried that the caste census controversy will lead to polarization of the Hindu vote, as it did during the Mandal agitation. Minister Janak Ram represented the BJP in the all-party delegation led by Nitish Kumar who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Opposition leaders, including Nitish Kumar and Tejaswi Yadav, were initially scheduled to visit the PM.
The BJP was forced to send a delegation after NDA allied leaders Jitan Ram Manjhi (Hindustani Awam Morcha) and Mukesh Sahni (Vikas Sheel Insan Party) joined the delegation. The Prime Minister assured the delegation only that the demand for caste census would be considered. Nitish Kumar is also considering conducting a caste-based census in Bihar only if the central government does not implement the caste census.
The BJP is cutting back on the opposition of the frontier communities to the caste census. When BJP Bihar state president Sanjay Jaiswal said that the caste census would create social tension, senior BJP leader Sushil Modi said on Twitter that he was not against the caste census. While BJP Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi supported the caste census, BJP MLAs Sanjay Paswan and Haribhushan Thakur objected.
The BJP is challenged to actively discuss the caste census issue ahead of the Assembly elections in UP. Opposing the caste census will not sustain the support of the non-Yadav backward communities with the BJP in the UP and Bihar states. The BJP is also worried that the implementation of the caste census will lead to a rift in the frontline Hindu vote bank.
English Summary: BJP cautious over Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s moves regarding caste based census
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