NEW DELHI: Rahul forgot that Indira and Rajiv Gandhi always maintained a distance from caste politics. He got it into his head that caste was the way forward.
In these general elections, the Congress and the entire opposition tried to divide Hindus by playing the reservation card. How successful they were in this attempt will be known on June 4. So far, the estimates suggest that the opposition may not have succeeded in their strategy.
What is surprising is that the Congress, which usually stays away from caste politics, played the caste card at a time when it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was at the forefront as the upholder of Sanatan Dharma, with the consecration of Lord Ram at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. It is not easy to fight him on this. After the Congress’ victories in Karnataka and Himachal, when the foundation of the I.N.D.I Alliance was laid, Rahul Gandhi got entangled in caste politics. He was made to believe that the BJP could be ousted only by dividing Hindus along caste lines.
Rahul forgot that his grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gandhi always maintained a distance from caste politics. He got it into his head that caste was the way forward.
That’s why, starting last year, he began discussing the caste census and started telling the backward classes that they had not been given anything. He forgot that it was his party that ruled the country for more than 50 years. He started suggesting that backward class officers cannot reach top positions, cannot enter the media, cannot become industrialists, and that the country is run by select officers from the upper castes. He promised that if Congress came to power, it would conduct a caste census to ensure justice for the backward classes.
However, even after raising this issue, Congress lost in the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in November 2023. Even then in its manifesto Congress promised to conduct a caste census and remove the 50% reservation cap. In addition the Congress linked the BJP’s 400-plus slogan as a conspiracy to end reservations. The entire opposition felt that this was the one issue on which they could defeat the BJP. It has to be seen on 4 June if this strategy has worked.
But the BJP, starting with the Prime Minister, countered the Opposition’s reservation claim and additionally linked reservation to religion, trapping the opposition. The BJP targeted the opposition by saying opposition was actually planning to take away reservations meant for backward classes and give it to the Muslims. Whenever the caste card has worked in the Hindi belt, it has always benefited the regional parties instead of the Congress. Where Congress faces a direct contest with the BJP, the upper castes do not support it. In states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Congress’s path will become increasingly difficult. Reservations will not be able to stand up against Sanatan Dharma.
After the second phase, Prime Minister Modi extensively played the Hindutva card as a counter to reservation and caste politics. Reports suggest that the reservation issue did not cause significant harm in the first and second phases. Therefore, the BJP may face minimal seat losses in Uttar Pradesh and other places. However, there are reports of complications in eastern Uttar Pradesh later on. Still, the reservation issue did not gain much traction. In Uttar Pradesh, due to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s handling of the law and order situation and PM Modi’s image, women have voted for the BJP in large numbers. As a result, the BJP might win more seats in UP than in 2019. If this happens, the opposition’s strategy of dividing votes on caste lines will be considered to be a complete failure.