With the 2024 general elections almost a year away, the Hindi-speaking areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have been hit by a controversy over the Ramcharitmanas. One of the most revered religious texts, written by a 16th-century devotee Rambhakta Goswami Tulsidas, is under attack from a section of backward caste leaders belonging to the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and the RJD and JD(U) in Bihar. , for allegedly being anti-backward, anti-Dalit and anti-women.
And as the BJP treads carefully in its counterattack on the matter, the issue is being kept alive with criticism from a section of upper caste leaders of opposition parties that have traditionally played backward class identity politics, Or have flourished on the phenomenon of circle. , The latest to join the debate is SP MLA Rakesh Singh. A Kshatriya upper caste leader, Rakesh has now come forward to take on fellow leader Swami Prasad Maurya for his comments against “Manas”.
Addressing a public program in his constituency Gauriganj, Rakesh said, “Swami Prasad Maurya has lost his mind. As a fellow leader, I appeal to him to withdraw his remarks.” Singh said he would take up the matter with the top leadership of the party.
The first impression of Rakesh Singh’s counterattack may be about a possible split within the Samajwadi Party. A deeper analysis shows that this may not actually be the case.
The party is likely to benefit if the upper caste versus backward caste debate continues. Therefore, even if a section of the upper caste leadership is uncomfortable with what leaders like Swami Prasad Maurya in UP or Bihar’s education minister Chandrashekhar say against the Ramcharitmanas, parties like the SP, RJD and JD(U) are in a better position if this debate If it continues then to gain politically.
It is also interesting to point out that the “Manas debate” has ignited at a time when the demand for a caste-based census has become a topic of political discussion in these two states, where caste politics has long been ingrained with the BJP. Hindutva politics of RSS.
While the Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar ordered a caste census in its first major decision after parting ways with the BJP and aligning with the RJD, the demand is gaining momentum in Uttar Pradesh. The SP has announced that it will launch an agitation in support of the demand with the party chief Akhilesh Yadav Accusing the BJP of being anti-poor, he said, “Caste census is the only way to ensure economic development for the underprivileged and my party will launch a campaign for this in every district.”
Aggressive opposition, BJP guarding
Contrary to expectations, the BJP’s response to the “Manas controversy” as well as the caste census debate has been cautious. In contrast to the usual aggression from its rank and file on such issues of religious discourse, party leaders have remained mostly silent on the matter. A senior party leader said that the upper caste leaders of the party have been advised not to comment on the subject.
Even UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has not been very vocal on these issues. Recently, speaking with Rahul Joshi, Group Editor-in-Chief of Network 18, the CM took a direct dig at Swami Prasad, the top backward class face of UP politics, reacting to both the “Manas controversy” and the caste census demand. refrained from attacking. Maurya Yogi only said that “those who question Manas do not know how revered the text is”.
On the question of demand for caste census, Yogi said that such decisions are taken by the Centre.
The dilemma of the BJP on the matter is easily understood. Any wrong move on such controversies could put pressure on the larger caste solidarity built so hard under the umbrella of Hindutva ideology.
Dr. Prashant Trivedi of the Lucknow-based Giri Institute of Development Studies says, “After a long and often a losing battle with the forces of Mandal politics, the BJP and the RSS have been able to move beyond being mere parties.” upper castes. A large section of the backward castes left the Mandal and joined the BJP in 2014 and since then have stood by it continuously for years. It is also the MBC (Most Backward Caste) vote bank and a section of Dalits, which the opposition now wants to reach from Uttar Pradesh to Bihar.
It is estimated that the Backward Classes form the largest segment of the state’s population. It is estimated that this figure is somewhere between 45 and 50 percent of the total population. The Mandal Commission report in the late 1980s first aired the claim of backward caste politics in the states of UP and Bihar. The rise of people like Mulayam Singh Yadav in UP and Lalu Prasad Yadav in Bihar was a manifestation of this.
The demand for OBC caste census has been going on since then. Three decades later, as mandal politics gradually lost momentum, the growing hue and cry around the caste census could be an attempt to revive the old politics.
Mandal Politics – Opposition’s Only Hope Against BJP?
In the state of Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP has virtually wiped out the opposition since 2014, the revival of mandal politics is the only major hope for the likes of the Samajwadi Party. Even the grand alliance of the SP and the Dalit-leaning Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) failed to make a dent in the caste consolidation of the BJP.
Now preparing for the 2024 general elections, the Hindi heartland of UP and Bihar is equally important for both the BJP and its opposition. If the BJP has to hope for a third consecutive victory, it needs a firm hold on this region and if the opposition dreams of ousting the Narendra Modi-led BJP government from power, it must stop the saffron party’s juggernaut here. Is required.
UP and Bihar comprise 120 Lok Sabha seats (80 in UP and 40 in Bihar), which were won by the BJP and its allies in 2019. The NDA had won 39 seats in Bihar, including 17 for the BJP and 16 for the BJP. JD(U). With Bihar now out of the NDA fold, the state of Bihar is already a big challenge for the BJP.
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP and allies won 65 seats, toppling the much-hyped SP-BSP alliance. The party now looks even better in the state as the opposition unity has crumbled. It is a do or die situation for the badly battered opposition. No wonder it wants to revive the old magic of the Mandal formula that was so effective against the BJP in the 1990s and the period before 2014.
Therefore, it can be expected that the SP, RJD and JD(U) will try to whip up the backward class sentiments. At present, the Ramcharitmanas controversy and the demand for caste census are being used to stoke passions.
Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ameek Jamai, however, disagrees. He says, “The Samajwadi Party has been demanding and agitating for a caste census since the time of late Mulayam Singh Yadav and the BJP has always opposed it as it is primarily anti-backward and anti-Dalit.”
On the other hand, it is likely to be a continuing strategy for the BJP to be less vocal on such issues with caste discourse. For this, the “Hindutva masterstroke” will be the grand Ramlala temple in Ayodhya, which is scheduled to be inaugurated in January next year, a few months before the election battle.
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