New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Occasion in Bihar, amid its ongoing organisational reshuffle, has appointed greater than 40 district presidents with an eye fixed on the meeting elections due later this yr.
Key concerns within the appointments have been the final or ‘higher castes’ which make up solely 15.52 p.c of Bihar’s inhabitants, in line with the 2022 caste survey, however dominate the state’s energy construction; Chief Minister and NDA ally JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar’s caste base of Kurmi and Kushwaha (dominant OBC castes termed Luv-Kush in Bihar); and employees who’ve risen from the grassroots.
Additionally, whereas beforehand there have been no girls among the many 45 district presidents, the BJP has this time named two girls: Reshma Bharti, of the Yadav OBC (Different Backward Courses) group, who has been made president of the Kurmi-Yadav-dominated Sheikhpura district, and Neelam Sahni, an OBC chief chosen for Samastipur district.
Of the 40 district presidents named, 18 or 45 p.c belong to the ‘higher castes’. From the ‘backward castes’, 10 district presidents have been picked from the Luv-Kush caste base and the remaining are from the EBC (Extraordinarily Backward Courses) and different teams, BJP insiders stated.
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The BJP’s gamble to attract the Kushwahas, by elevating Samrat Choudhary as deputy chief minister and state president, had not paid off in final yr’s Lok Sabha elections because the celebration’s tally went down by 5 seats. Nonetheless, the celebration has stored each the Kushwahas and Kurmis in focus in its organisational setup in view of the essential meeting elections.
Thus far, the BJP has chosen 16 new candidates for district president and repeated 22 earlier ones who haven’t but accomplished two phrases. It has additionally modified half of these deemed as under-performing in 11 districts the place it didn’t win even one meeting seat, in line with sources.
Additional, loyal cadres who’ve risen from the grassroots to district-level rank have been given desire. A number of districts have additionally been divided into two organisational zones and the variety of district presidents is ready to extend to 52, sources added.
“Because the normal caste kinds the spine of the BJP within the state, the celebration has stored its conventional help base in thoughts throughout organisational or ministerial appointments. The celebration has additionally made inroads into the backward communities within the final 20 years and has thus rewarded backward caste leaders from EBC or OBC or Dalit teams,” a Bihar BJP functionary informed ThePrint.
“Caste arithmetic has been thought-about within the organisational polls in order to share energy with each caste. It was the BJP who beforehand elevated Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi as deputy CMs. In 2023, Hari Sahni from the EBC neighborhood was chosen as chief of the opposition within the legislative council. Samrat Choudhary has been the face of the celebration as deputy CM. We despatched Nityanand Rai (a Yadav) to the Union Cupboard to present illustration to backward castes,” he added.
Jagannath Thakur, Bihar BJP normal secretary, additionally stated that caste arithmetic had been stored in thoughts apart from organisational capabilities in number of district presidents, and that the celebration had tried to signify main castes in its organisational setup and empowered backward communities with an eye fixed on the Bihar polls.
Reshma Bharti termed her choice as a “massive honour for ladies from the backward Yadav caste”.
“Usually, the Yadav caste has voted for (Rashtriya Janata Dal chief and former CM) Lalu Prasad. The BJP, nonetheless, needs to empower each caste and present the Yadavs that it respects them equally. That’s the reason a Yadav lady has been chosen as district president,” she informed ThePrint.
In Sheikhpura, the influential Yadav votebank is estimated to be over 50,000.
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BJP’s Kushwaha push
The BJP has chosen 10 district presidents from the Kurmi and Kushwaha castes regardless of not getting their vital votes within the normal elections. Each castes have been loyal to Nitish, however when he dumped the BJP in 2022, the latter tried to dent the Bihar CM’s Luv Kush coalition by elevating Choudhary, a Kushwaha, as state BJP chief and later as deputy CM.
Actually, Choudhary’s meteoric rise over 5 years reveals the BJP’s steady effort to nurture the essential Kushwaha constituency.
Amongst OBCs, Kushwahas are the most important caste block after the Yadavs who’re estimated to make up 14 p.c of Bihar’s voters and are loyal to the RJD. Within the Lok Sabha polls, Lalu had performed the Kushwaha card by fielding seven candidates from the caste as a part of the Mahagathbandhan alliance led by the RJD.
Of those, Abhay Kushwaha, Shravan Kumar Kushwaha and Alok Mehta had been from the RJD, Sanjay Kumar from CPI (M), Rajaram Singh from CPI (ML), Anshul Avijit from the Congress, and Rajesh Kushwaha from Vikassheel Insaan Occasion.
The BJP had not fielded any Kushwaha candidate within the Lok Sabha polls however the party-led NDA fielded 4 such candidates: Vijay Laxmi Kushwaha, Santosh Kushwaha and Sunil Kumar, all from the JD(U), and Upendra Kushwaha from the Rashtriya Lok Samta Occasion.
The RJD’s Kushwaha card is believed to have dented the NDA in lots of seats and lowered its margin of victory in two, Nawada Munger and Valmiki Nagar.
Since then, the BJP has despatched Upendra Kushwaha to the Rajya Sabha and is giving the caste a push in its organisational appointments. Ally JD(U) has additionally chosen its Bihar president from the Kushwaha caste.
The RJD, however, has appointed its Aurangabad MP Abhay Kushwaha because the chief within the Lok Sabha.
A senior BJP chief expressed confidence about drawing the Luv-Kush to the NDA. “Nitish is the CM, Upendra Kushwaha is a pan-Bihar Kushwaha chief who’s now glad with a Rajya Sabha seat and Samrat Choudhary is deputy CM. All three are sufficient to consolidate Kurmi-Kushwaha voters in favour of the NDA and cease them from siding with the RJD within the meeting polls,” he informed ThePrint.
The so-called ‘higher castes’ type the spine of the BJP in Bihar and their steady help through the years has made the celebration a possible participant in Bihar politics.
Within the Lok Sabha polls final yr, the BJP had fought on 17 of 40 seats in Bihar and fielded 10 ‘higher caste’ candidates: 5 Rajputs, two Bhumihars, two Brahmins and one Kayastha. The remaining had been from OBC, EBC and Dalit teams.
In 2023, the BJP had picked eight Brahmins, six Bhumihars, 4 Rajputs and two Kayasthas as district presidents. The remaining had been from OBC and EBC teams.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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