New Delhi:
In the latest development on the caste census issue, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has formally opposed the caste in census.
This development is contrary to the BJP stand, which the sources say indicates a rift with the party.
However, the BJP too battles a huge dilemma - one faction, including party president Nitin Gadkari is against caste census. The other faction, fearing political isolation, does want caste in the census.
This dilemma was highlighted best by BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar's recent angry outburst against Mandalites in Parliament. "You decide if you are with India, Bangladesh or Pakistan," Ananth Kumar had said to Lalu Yadav. Another senior BJP leader, Gopinath Munde, argues, "What's wrong if a person writes his caste during the census?"
The Sangh's top leaders worry that the focus on caste will create new fissures and work against the Sangh's nationalist agenda.
Privately, the BJP fears that the census could eventually create new caste satraps, especially among Most Backward Castes (MBCs). Their rise could upset the BJP's core support base - the upper caste. But the party also worries that if it lags behind in finding those leaders, it may lose the MBC vote.
In the 1990s, the party saw the rise of backward caste leaders like Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharati. Though the BJP's upper caste lobby eventually edged them out, the political landscape has changed now. Nearly 40 per cent of the BJP's MPs today are from backward castes. So are many of its leaders - Narendra Modi, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, and Sushil Modi.
The BJP recalls that those who opposed Mandal One lost out politically.
This development is contrary to the BJP stand, which the sources say indicates a rift with the party.
However, the BJP too battles a huge dilemma - one faction, including party president Nitin Gadkari is against caste census. The other faction, fearing political isolation, does want caste in the census.
This dilemma was highlighted best by BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar's recent angry outburst against Mandalites in Parliament. "You decide if you are with India, Bangladesh or Pakistan," Ananth Kumar had said to Lalu Yadav. Another senior BJP leader, Gopinath Munde, argues, "What's wrong if a person writes his caste during the census?"
The Sangh's top leaders worry that the focus on caste will create new fissures and work against the Sangh's nationalist agenda.
Privately, the BJP fears that the census could eventually create new caste satraps, especially among Most Backward Castes (MBCs). Their rise could upset the BJP's core support base - the upper caste. But the party also worries that if it lags behind in finding those leaders, it may lose the MBC vote.
In the 1990s, the party saw the rise of backward caste leaders like Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharati. Though the BJP's upper caste lobby eventually edged them out, the political landscape has changed now. Nearly 40 per cent of the BJP's MPs today are from backward castes. So are many of its leaders - Narendra Modi, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, and Sushil Modi.
The BJP recalls that those who opposed Mandal One lost out politically.
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