Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday addressing a rally in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh reiterated her party’s promise for a caste census.

“Recently, Bihar conducted a caste census and it was revealed that 84 per cent of the people belong to OBC, SC and ST categories in the state. But, their numbers in jobs are very low. To know their exact numbers and do justice to them, a caste census should be conducted in the country,” she said, reported PTI.

This comes two days after the Congress Working Committee (CWC), after its meeting in Delhi, issued a statement promising to conduct a nationwide caste census if voted to power. The party also promised to remove the 50% cap on reservations to give adequate representation to OBCs, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes based on their population.

The recent release of Bihar’s caste survey results has reignited a political debate with opposition parties targeting the Modi government at the Centre for not initiating a country-wide caste census.

The findings of the Bihar caste survey have fuelled the debate for representation based on population along caste lines. The caste survey shows that OBCs and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) constitute 63.1 % of Bihar’s population, while SCs and STs account for 21.3% and forward castes make up the remaining 15.5%. This data has intensified the demand for increased reservations for backward classes and a restructuring of the existing reservation system nationwide.

The Bihar caste survey has also prompted politicians from different parties to demand similar surveys in other states like Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

The demand for a caste census could be a matter of concern for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, particularly in states with significant OBC populations, just months ahead of the 2024 general elections. The demand for caste census could have serious implications in over a dozen states, including UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, according to reports.

Opposition parties, united under the banner of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), view the Bihar survey as a significant electoral opportunity, comparing it to the transformative Mandal Commission recommendations of 1990.

According to an India Today report, the Opposition aims to replicate the impact of Mandal Commission recommendations, which led to the decline of Congress and the rise of regional parties like the Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar. They anticipate a similar outcome for the BJP with a nationwide caste census.

However, amid the rising demand for caste census by opposition parties BJP remains cautious. The party fears potential disruptions and upsetting upper castes, especially with impending state elections and the general election on the horizon.

Reacting to the Bihar caste survey, Prime Minister Modi accused opposition parties of “committing the sin” of “dividing the country on caste lines” while addressing a rally in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, on October 2.

A report by The Wire highlighted that there is a varying opinion within the BJP on the Caste Census. Senior leader and Union minister Giriraj Singh claimed Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was misleading people with the caste census. Rajya Saba MP Sushil Kumar Modi stated that counting caste groups in Bihar was initiated by the BJP during its alliance with Nitish Kumar’s government. Bihar’s BJP unit president, Samrat Choudhary, took a cautious stance, mentioning that the party would decide after studying the “methodology” of the census process, as per The Wire report.

Several NDA allies, primarily single-caste parties led by non-dominant OBC groups advocating for increased political representation, have reaffirmed their call for a nationwide caste census. Parties such as the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, NISHAD Party, Apna Dal (Sonelal), and Hindustani Awam Morcha Secular are among those pushing for this initiative.

Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder S Ramadoss, an ally of the BJP in Tamil Nadu, expressed his support for Bihar’s caste survey in a post on X on October 3. He stated that Bihar’s survey had ignited the flame of social justice, which he believes will soon spread across the entire nation. Ramadoss urged both the Tamil Nadu government and the BJP-led Union government to conduct a caste census promptly.

சமூகநீதியை நிலைநாட்ட அடித்தளம் அமைத்த பிகார் முதலமைச்சர் நிதிஷ்குமாருக்கு பாராட்டுகள்: சாதிவாரி கணக்கெடுப்பு இந்தியாவுக்கு வழிகாட்டும்!

சாத்தியமே இல்லாதது என்பது போன்ற மாயை ஏற்படுத்தப்பட்டு வந்த சாதிவாரி மக்கள்தொகை கணக்கெடுப்பை வெற்றிகரமாக நடத்தி அதன் முடிவுகளை…— Dr S RAMADOSS (@drramadoss) October 3, 2023

Several non-BJP-ruled states have either conducted caste surveys or expressed their intent to do so, reflecting the growing momentum behind the demand. The Biju Janata Dal-led Odisha government has already initiated a caste survey, and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to release the results of the ‘Socio-Economic and Education Survey’ conducted in 2015. In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party had promised a caste census in its 2022 election manifesto. However, the Trinamool Congress, led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is yet to make its stand clear on caste census.

(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)