After Karnataka Setback, BJP's Caste Quota Focus Ahead Of 3 State Polls

The setback that BJP faced in the recent Karnataka assembly polls particularly in the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SC/STs) reserved seats, despite the state government announcing that it will increase quota for both the communities, will be on top of the party leadership's review of the election results, senior leaders of the party said.

The BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both in 2014 and 2019, had won a maximum of the SC/ST seats - 77 of 131 such constituencies in 2019 as compared to 67 in 2014. Both the social groups are an important part of the BJP's central focus on 'labharthi' (central welfare) schemes.

Party leaders said the SC/ST outreach of the party will also be intensified as the poll-bound states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have a significant number of voters from these two groups.

In Karnataka, while the BJP managed to win only 12 of the 36 seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes in the State, it failed to win a single seat among the seats that are reserved for the tribal communities. Meanwhile, the Congress won 21 Scheduled Castes seats and 14 Scheduled Tribes seats, up from 12 SC seats and 8 ST seats in 2018, while the JD(S) won four reserved seats. The BJP's biggest leaders from the SC/ST communities, such as Sriramulu and Govind Karjol, also lost their seats.

According to party insiders, the party failed to convince the Scheduled Castes voters of its move to increase reservation for the SC (left), which led to voters of Banjara, Bhovi and SC (right) communities voting against the BJP.

Right before the elections, the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government decided to carve out internal reservations in the 17 per cent Scheduled Castes quota by splitting it into six per cent for the most backward SC (Left) group, 5.5 per cent for the less backward SC (Right) group, and 4.5 per cent for the SC (touchable).

"The SC (right), Bhovi and Banjara communities specifically felt we were favouring the SC (left) community. As per our assessment, except in Bengaluru, coastal Karnataka and Bidar, the SCs consolidated against the BJP. Despite the BJP harping that there was no move to oust four touchable communities - Banjaras, Bhovis, Kormas and Korachas - from the SC list in the state, the Congress managed to mislead people," a senior funcionary of the BJP in Delhi said.

The Congress has 15 valmiki (ST) MLAs and 11 SC (right) MLAs, as opposed to two each for the BJP. The Congress also managed to get more MLAs in the communities of SC (left) with six of its candidates from the community winning as opposed to the BJP winning just two.

BJP ST morcha head Samir Oraon told NDTV that the party will ensure a proper review of the results, particularly why it couldn't manage to win a single seat. "For a month starting from May 20, we will celebrate the welfare schemes of the Modi government, and particularly in all ST reserved constituencies, promote people to spread awareness about how PM Modi's programmes have been able to help lives. We will draw up detailed plans soon for every state so the right information reaches people. All morcha heads will sit together and make a plan."

BJP leader P Murli Dhar Rao, who is the incharge of Madhya Pradesh elections, said the party and the government understands the importance of the SC/ST communities, and in the state, both have been making attempts to mobilise them.

"We have learnt our lessons from 2018 when the party saw losses in the SC/ST seats. Hence, we have been working with these groups very intently for the last five years. And, it is also important to remember that the ideological penetration of the BJP among the SC/ST groups in Madhya Pradesh is much higher than the same in Karnataka."

With regard to the setback faced by the party in the SC/ST seats, Karnataka BJP general secretary and MLC Ravikumar said the party will start the review of the elections in the next four-five days . "It is clear that we couldn't bring out the benefits of the reservation and the Congress succeeded in misleading them," he said.

According to the 2011 census, SCs make up 17.5 percent of Karnataka's population, while STs account for 6.95 per cent. Of the state's 224 assembly constituencies, 36 are reserved for SCs and 15 for STs.

The SC/ST groups will particularly be important in the poll-bound States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. According to the 2011 Census, people from the ST and SC communities formed 21.1 per cent and 15.6 per cent, respectively, of the state's population in Madhya Pradesh. Also important is Chhattisgarh, a tribal-dominated state with 30.62 per cent tribal population and 12.82 per cent SC population. In Rajasthan too, the PM has visited Banswara, Bharatpur and Nathdwara and other places with a significant number of SC/ST voters to appeal to the groups.

Political experts however said that resentment was simmering in the SC/ST groups much before the reservation move was announced by the state government, mainly due to price rise and poor governance.

TT Basavanagouda, Professor and Chairman, Department of Studies in Anthropology in Karnatak University Dharwad, said the tribal community in the state is not homogenous and that the congress party had given special focus to create awareness among tribes about their manifesto.

"And the tribals wanted a change. Most are below the poverty line. Migration is also high. Definitely, they were attracted by the guarantees announced by the Congress party and wanted to give them a chance.The increase in reservation promised by the BJP did not have much impact on tribals, as they knew the reservation policy is to be amended and implemented, which will take a long time. They can see what is an election gimmick, which is why I think the Congress must also focus on its promises and start implementing them at the earliest," he said.