New Delhi: While the Opposition Mahagathbandhan is fraying at the seams and allies are tugging in conflicting directions, the ruling NDA has wasted no opportunity to play the caste card to shore up its electoral base before the crucial Bihar polls. All NDA allies have kept the caste balance in mind while selecting candidates and giving tickets.
The JD(U) and the BJP are contesting 101 seats each in the 243-member state Assembly. Of the 202 seats the JD-U and the BJP are contesting, the two major partners of the ruling alliance have fielded 99 Other Backward Castes (OBCs) and Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs) candidates and 71 general candidates. All five NDA constituents have together fielded 35 women candidates.
While factoring the caste balance for selecting candidates, the BJP has fielded 49 candidates from the general category, followed by 40 candidates from the backward and most backward classes and 12 from the Dalit community.
Sources in the saffron party camp said that in selecting the candidates, the BJP leadership has sought to address social equations while also keeping its traditional votebank intact. The BJP list of candidates includes 21 Rajputs, 16 Bhumihars, 11 Brahmins, 13 Vaishyas, 12 EBCs, 12 Dalits, seven Kushwahas, six Yadavs, two Kurmis, and one Kayastha.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) has given tickets to 37 candidates from OBCs and 22 from EBCs communities, who have been the party’s mainstay. The general upper-caste candidates, who also account for 22 seats, also find a sizeable representation, taking their thin population into account, though the share offered to Muslims has triggered speculation whether the JD(U) has now given up on the minority vote, given its long alliance with the BJP and inability to take an independent stance on sensitive issues like the Waqf. The JD(U) has given four tickets to Muslim candidates.
Keeping the caste equation right, Chirag Paswan’s LJP(RV) has also kept the caste equation in consideration while distributing party tickets. It has given five tickets to the Rajput and Yadav community, followed by four tickets to the Paswans and Bhumihars. The LJP(RV) has also given representation to other backward and extremely backward castes.
Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM has fielded his relatives on four out of six seats and Bhumihar candidates on two. Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) has fielded one Bhumihar, one Rajput, three Kushwahas and one Vaishya candidate.
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