Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday that if the INDIA coalition comes to power at the Centre, the Other Backward Class (OBC) community will “suffer the biggest loss” as he accused the Congress of being an “anti-OBC” party.
“If this ghamandiya (arrogant) alliance wins, the OBC will suffer the biggest loss in the coming days. The Congress is an anti-OBC party. They sat over both the Kaka Kalelkar Commission and the Mandal Commission reports,” Mr. Shah said, addressing a rally at Katni in Khajuraho Lok Sabha constituency of Madhya Pradesh.
The BJP has fielded its State unit president and sitting MP V.D. Sharma from Khajuraho. Earlier in the day, Mr. Shah also held a rally in the Mandla Lok Sabha constituency, where Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste is again the BJP candidate.
While Mandla goes to polls in the first phase on April 19, Khajuraho will vote in the second phase on April 26.
In a move to draw the OBCs, which makes up 50% of the population in the State, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said that 27 Ministers in the BJP-led Central Government are from the OBC community.
“(Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji formed the OBC Commission and gave 27% reservation to the OBC community people in all Central Government-run educational institutions,” Mr. Shah said.
Both the BJP and the Congress have been trying to appeal to the influential OBC community of the State ahead of the polls.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in his recent visits to the State, including during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra last month and during his poll campaign rallies, emphasised his party’s promise of conducting a nationwide caste-based census to find out the population of the OBCs, Dalits and tribals to provide them with “proper representation” in employment and education.
The OBC community of the State has long backed the BJP and the ruling party was able to consolidate its support in last year’s Assembly Elections as it won 163 out of 230 seats.
Following the polls, the party replaced Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, an OBC leader, with another OBC leader — Mohan Yadav. Currently, the State Cabinet has 12 Ministers from the OBC community, out of total of 31 members.
Following the Assembly poll debacle, the Congress was replaced its then State unit president Kamal Nath with an OBC face, Jitu Patwari.
Unlike the tribals and Dalits who hold sway over specific regions such as Mahakoshal and Malwa-Nimar, the OBC population is in an influential position across the State.
Mr. Shah also hit out at the constituent parties of the INDIA bloc, accusing them of dynasty politics and their leaders of “wanting to promote” their sons and daughters.
“Members of the INDI Alliance won’t be able to do any good for people. These dynastic parties will never do any good for the poor, Dalits, farmers, youth, tribals, women and backward communities. If there is anyone who is committed to their welfare, then it is Modi ji’s government,” he said.
The Khajuraho constituency was recently in the headlines after the nomination of Samajwadi Party’s INDIA bloc candidate Meera Yadav was rejected by the Returning Officer over alleged irregularities in the form.
The Congress had ceded the Khajuraho constituency to the Samajwadi Party, its ally in the INDIA coalition, as part of its seat-sharing arrangement.
The rejection was slammed by the top leaders of both parties, which accused the BJP of “murdering democracy”.
The two parties are now mulling the option of moving court and also of extending their support to another candidate in case Ms. Yadav’s candidature is not reinstated.
