The OBC vote has been an important part of the BJP’s success since 2014. Will the demand for caste census in the states and its inherent dangers scuttle the party’s plans?
date of issue: April 24, 2023 , Updates: April 14, 2023 21:08 IST
(From right) OBC leader Bhupendra Yadav, BJP president JP Nadda and OBC Morcha chief K. Laxman at the party’s OBC MPs meeting in Delhi, March 30. (Photo: ANI)
On 3 April, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi moved to Kolar, Gujarat to suspend his two-year jail term by a local sessions court in a defamation case over his “thieves share the Modi surname” remark in Kolar Karnataka during the 2019 elections. Landed at Surat. Campaign. The same day, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra called a press meet in Kolkata to emphasize that Gandhi’s mockery was an insult not only to people with the Modi surname, but to the entire OBC (Other Backward Classes) community. In fact, taking advantage of this hue and cry, the party also launched a ‘Gaon Gaon Chalo, Ghar Ghar Chalo’ campaign on April 6 (BJP Foundation Day) to deliver the ‘message’ from door to door. The party’s ambition, as always, is huge – to reach 10 million OBC households in 100,000 villages across the country when the campaign ends on April 14 (again a symbolic date, the birthday of Dalit icon BR Ambedkar).