BHOPAL: For ruling BJP, the Supreme Court’s order on Wednesday restoring OBC reservations in Madhya Pradesh has come as a great relief before the panchayat and urban civic body polls. With state assembly elections due next year, the BJP was concerned that if the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government failed to get reservations for OBCs in the civic polls, there could be major repercussions in November 2023. After all, it was a question of the reservation rights of half the voting population of the state.
The BJP government appointed OBC Welfare Commission claimed 48% OBC voting population in the state, while Congress put the figure at 56%. OBC reservations became the biggest political issue and were etched at becoming the most important election issue, larger than bijli, pani, sadak.
