BJP, RSS go all out to win back SC-ST-OBC votes in Maharashtra polls

The Maharashtra Assembly elections have been marked by a desperate attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win back within five months the social and political base it lost to the Congress-led INDIA bloc in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year.

Troubled by the underperformance of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Lok Sabha elections, especially in the constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), the BJP leadership has decided to reach out specifically to these two communities.

New government policies

As a first step, the BJP leadership is planning to make certain changes to the state government’s policies to attract SC-ST voters. Senior BJP leaders believe that one of the major concerns of the SC, ST and OBC communities has been vacancies in education institutions and government jobs.

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According to a proposal under consideration for the BJP manifesto, SC-ST-OBC students and job seekers in the state may be allowed walk-in interviews every six months to fill the vacant seats in educational and other government institutions, a senior state BJP leader told The Federal.

“It has been felt that too many seats remain vacant, which is a cause for concern for these communities. To address their concerns, the BJP is planning to conduct these interviews every six months so that all vacancies can be filled and there is no ill will within the communities,” the leader said.

Loss of eight reserved seats

The NDA’s losses in the Maharashtra reserved seats in the Lok Sabha polls were striking. Of the nine reserved seats, it could win only one during the national polls. However, during the 2019 general elections, it had won all nine. The loss of seats has sparked worries among the NDA leadership of losing a critical voter base to the INDIA bloc in the state.

By focusing on the SC, ST, and OBC voter base, the BJP is not only trying to streamline its social engineering but also to consolidate the voter base in its favour. Senior NDA leaders have also suggested that the state government implement the SC-ST sub-categorisation for reservation. The Eknath Shinde government has already formed a committee to try to implement it after the polls, if the NDA returns to power.

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“The NDA’s proposals for the next government are very specifically directed towards the betterment of SC-ST-OBC communities. It has been noticed that most of the micro and small enterprises dealing with traditional arts are run by OBCs. The BJP has proposed a new university for traditional art forms, which will not only help these artisans improve their skills but also connect them to buyers,” the BJP leader said.

Sangh Parivar approach

It is not only the BJP that is trying to reach out to the SC-ST communities ahead of Maharashtra polls. The RSS and its 32 affiliated organisations are also doing their bit.

Senior leaders of the RSS and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) feel that the next one year should be dedicated to the inclusion of SCs and STs and end any differences in society. Although the RSS and all its affiliates have been working with the SC-ST communities for long, the greater stress on ending caste differences comes with a view to the RSS’s centenary next year.

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“We have decided to hold meetings in residential colonies and villages where there is a considerable SC-ST population. We have also asked religious leaders to hold gatherings in such locations. We will organise lunches in SC-ST homes to end the differences prevalent in society,” Vinod Bansal, national spokesperson of the VHP, told The Federal.

Coordinated effort

Political analysts believe the efforts of the BJP and the RSS-affiliated organisations are not in isolation but a coordinated effort to win back the party’s social and political base.

“The BJP-RSS are making a concerted effort to reach out to SC-ST-OBC communities. It is an attempt to increase their footprint nationally and not limited to Maharashtra. They carried out similar efforts in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat before the Assembly elections there, and Maharashtra is just another example,” Yatindra Singh Sisodia, Director, MP Institute of Social Science Research, Ujjain, told The Federal.