BJP isn’t defending itself against Congress charge on reservation. Worried for core voters

The consolidated support of orthodox and nationalist voters gave a boost to BJP’s electoral performance post-1990s. Now, the Opposition is trying to woo them.

File photo of Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi | ANI

The politics of reservation has become a central narrative in the ongoing Lok Sabha election. On one hand, the Congress-led Opposition accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of conspiring to abolish reservation. On the other hand, the BJP counter-alleged that the Congress intends to redistribute among Muslims the quota meant for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. This whole controversy raises three pertinent questions: First, is there any truth to the Opposition’s allegations? If yes, then how much? Second, why hasn’t the BJP defended itself by highlighting instances where the Narendra Modi government extended reservation? And third, why are people in the dark about the ruling party’s decisions?

According to my analysis, the Opposition’s allegations are based on the violation of reservation rules in Uttar Pradesh, which has the potential to seriously impact the current election. However, I found that the Modi government extended reservation to new institutions but avoided using them as counters due to fear of losing its orthodox Hindu vote bank.   

BJP’s violation of reservation policy

The Opposition’s allegations have found takers because the Modi government did away with reservation in its lateral entry scheme to absorb more bureaucrats into the system. The move has been questioned widely by the SC, ST, and OBC communities, fuelling the notion that the ruling party is working toward abolishing the reservation system.

Moreover, the irregularities in the recruitment of assistant teachers from reserved categories in Uttar Pradesh have added to the fear. Despite widespread protests in Lucknow and the high court asking the government to issue a fresh list of selected candidates, the Yogi Adityanath government has been unable to resolve the problem since 2019. Since the affected candidates hail from different parts of Uttar Pradesh, there is no harm in believing that this could become a mass issue against the government.

Extension of reservation by Modi govt 

Although the BJP has violated reservation policy on several occasions, it has also extended it in some government institutions. These include the Navodaya Vidyalayas, Kendriya Vidyalayas and Sainik Schools. In these schools, there was reservation for SCs/STs but not for OBCs. The Modi government extended OBC reservation in these schools. His government has also provided constitutional status to the National Backward Classes Commission, and ensured implementation of 27 per cent OBC reservation in postgraduate dental and medical courses (NEET PG).

The most surprising part was that these moves did not face protests like the 1990 anti-Mandal agitation. Or protests like the ones that happened in the aftermath of the extension of OBC reservation in higher education institutions in 2006. This lack of agitation could have multiple interpretations. It could mean that there’s an increased acceptance of reservation.

It could also mean that India’s upper middle class no longer cares about government schools since they send their children to private ones. Previously, when India didn’t have as many private institutions, people developed an over-reliance on government schools, colleges and universities. Maybe an increasing number of private medical colleges and seats has given relief to the elite and upper middle class as they are assured of their children’s admission to top-notch institutions.

Finally, the Modi government pushed to redesign the reservation policy in Jammu and Kashmir. As part of this, the Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order (Amendment) Bill 2023, which included the Valmiki community in the list of Scheduled Castes of Jammu and Kashmir. Valmikis were brought to J&K in 1957 by the state government after sanitation workers in Jammu went on an indefinite strike. Before the abolition of Article 370 on 5 August 2019, they were considered non-natives in J&K and hence, were not provided with SC reservation.

In addition to this, the government also pushed to rename ‘weak and underprivileged classes’ – used in the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act – as Other Backward Classes. It also pushed for The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill 2023, which would add Paharis to the Scheduled Tribes list. This, however, created resistance among the state’s Gujjar and Bakarwal communities. 

Nevertheless, the Modi government has enacted eight constitutional amendment bills, five of which deal with reservation policy. Amendments have been brought for constitutional status to the backward classes commission, EWS reservation, the extension of SC/ST reservation in the legislature, empowering state governments to recognise backward classes, and enacting reservation for women in the legislature. 

The Congress party has supported all these amendment bills.

BJP’s bid to woo orthodox Hindu voters

Even though the BJP pushed to extend reservation for SCs, STs, OBCs and economically weaker sections, it avoided using these examples to counter the Opposition’s allegations. The prime minister instead attacked the Congress party and its allies for allegedly attempting to redistribute reservation along religious lines. Studies on India’s electoral politics argue that, among upper caste voters, there exist orthodox and nationalist voters. The former used to vote for the Congress while the latter used to vote for the BJP. By the 1990s, the former shifted toward the BJP, due to fear of losing social status after the implementation of reservation for OBCs.

The consolidated support of these orthodox and nationalist voters gave a boost to BJP’s electoral performance.    

The social media activities of India’s orthodox voters suggest that they are strongly opposed to reservation and inter-caste marriage. Recently, the Opposition seems to be trying to woo these orthodox voters by questioning Modi’s involvement in the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The issue of four Shankaracharyas declining the invitation to attend the Ayodhya ceremony was widely circulated. The BJP, thus, seems fearful of losing its orthodox voters and is deliberately not highlighting its good work on reservation.

Arvind Kumar (@arvind_kumar__) is Assistant Professor at the Department of Law and Criminology, Royal Holloway, University of London. Views are personal.

(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)