Patna: The Bharatiya Janata Party is hoping to take advantage of the internal rift within Janata Dal (United) and is working towards winning the backing of the extremely backward classes in the state. According to sources, the BJP is working on a strategy to consolidate the support of the backward vote bank within the JD(U).
The party has formed a committee comprising former state president Sanjay Jaiswal, Mangal Pandey, Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Thakur, and Navin Nitin.
The committee's primary objective is to establish contact with leaders from the backward communities within the JD(U) and other parties, with an aim to bring them into the BJP fold. The BJP is making concerted efforts to assimilate leaders from the backward category into its ranks, a move seen as crucial in a state where over 55% of the population belongs to the Scheduled Castes and backward classes.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is quite popular among extremely backward and Mahadalit communities, but the BJP is now actively working to counterbalance this influence. Former minister Bhim Singh, belonging to the Chandra Vanshi community, has already joined the BJP, along with Suheli Mehta and Pramod Chandra Vanshi.
The BJP's approach in Bihar mirrors its strategy in Uttar Pradesh, where the party aims to unite leaders from various sub-castes within the extremely backward classes. In Bihar, the Chandra Vanshi community constitutes approximately 7% of the population, and the BJP is keen on tapping into this demographic.
The party's commitment to the cause is evident not only in its political maneuvers but also in organisational decisions. Bihar BJP President Samrat Chaudhary's team includes members from the extremely backward classes, reinforcing the party's emphasis on inclusivity.
The political landscape has intensified with the release of caste-based surveys, bringing the focus sharply onto the sub-castes within the extremely backward classes. Nitish Kumar's decision to increase reservations for EBCs from 18% to 25% has added fuel to the fire. The BJP, however, is advocating a further increase, proposing a 30% reservation for the extremely backward classes.
Earlier today, JDU re-elected Nitish Kumar as the president with an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The change comes months before the elections and speculation over Nitish Kumar's prime ministerial ambitions in that race. The JDU boss was apparently passed over as a potential PM candidate for the INDIA opposition bloc earlier this month.