As the assembly elections near, political parties in Uttar Pradesh have begun to play their cards. Meanwhile, Mayawati, the leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the state’s former Chief Minister, has called for a separate census of the OBC castes and stated that if the central government takes any move in this regard, the BSP will support it in the assembly.
“The BSP has been demanding a separate census of the OBCs for a long time and this is still our demand,” the BSP Chief tweeted on Friday morning. The BSP would undoubtedly back the central administration if it takes any significant steps in this regard, both inside and outside the Parliament.”
Politically noteworthy is the Central Government’s decision to grant Other Backward Classes (OBC) 27 percent and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) 10 percent reservation in the NEET examination. The groundwork for the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2022 has been set, and the central government has endeavoured to appease both the lower and upper castes. This explains why, although a national party like Congress continues to preach about flawed social fairness, parties who were ahead of the curve in pursuing backward caste politics swiftly rose to prominence.
According to a research by the Social Justice Committee, backward castes account for about 54 percent of Uttar Pradesh’s population. Despite the fact that it has a substantial Muslim population, such as Teli and Julaha, it still has a strong Hindu backward caste community. Kurmi, Lodh, and Maurya castes have moved for the BJP during the Jan Sangh era. The Yadavs reportedly supported the BJP in the recent UP assembly and Lok Sabha elections. As a result, the Samajwadi Party was active on the issue of reservation.
