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In election year, Modi and Shah have a new headache — the angry upper caste voter

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At high-profile meeting, Modi and Shah urge all BJP chief ministers to address ‘upper caste unhappiness’ on a priority basis. 

New Delhi: As it stares at crucial end-of-the-year assembly polls and next year’s Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a fresh worry — the angry upper caste voter.

At a high-profile meeting of all BJP chief ministers (CM) and deputy chief ministers last week, both Modi and party president Amit Shah expressed deep concern about “upper caste unhappiness with the party” and urged all CMs to address this on a priority basis, said highly placed sources in the party who did not wish to be identified.

On 28 August, 15 CMs and seven deputy CMs of the BJP, as well as some top cabinet leaders, attended a day-long meet in New Delhi, chaired by Modi and Shah. The review and strategy meet came six months after a similar one in February where Modi urged the CMs to expedite the implementation of welfare schemes in their states.


Also read: Modi-Shah discuss BJP election strategy with CMs, thrust on welfare moves & migrants


‘Address backlash’

“Both PM Modi and the party president expressed concern about the unhappiness of the upper castes with the BJP. They told the CMs to address this backlash and take steps to solve their issues,” said a top party source.

The conclusion by the top brass is based on detailed internal assessments by the party, traditionally known for its upper caste Brahmin-Baniya voters, based both on feedback from the ground as well as social media.

The party is deeply concerned about the sprouting upper caste groups on social media platforms, including Facebook and WhatsApp, calling for choosing the NOTA option on the EVM instead of voting for the BJP.

It has also taken note of Facebook pages urging “savarna brothers” to press the NOTA button in 2019. Some pages have images of Modi speaking on a podium with an Ambedkar portrait behind him while others even call upon the upper castes to not vote for Modi “so he knows whether this segment had any contribution in making him PM in 2014 or whether it happened only because of Ambedkar’s blessings”.

Other pages warn that if Modi comes back, there may be an “anti-savarna law”.

Core voters

In the recent past, the BJP has tried hard to shake-off its ‘Brahmin-Baniya’ tag by attempting to woo a cross-section of voters, including OBCs and especially the Dalit community.

The party has taken a series of steps as part of its Dalit outreach programme, including celebrating Ambedkar Jayanti with gusto, organising the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan around it and, most recently, deciding to bring a constitution amendment bill in Parliament to restore the original provisions of the SC/ST Act and nullify what was viewed as the Supreme Court’s dilution of it. The Modi government has also given constitutional backing to the National Commission for Backward Classes.

Sources said the party now feels the Dalit outreach may have antagonised its core voter — the upper caste — with the decision to restore provisions of SC/ST Act being the “tipping point”.


Also read: BJP smells a rat as Congress emerges biggest player in Karnataka civic polls


“There is a feeling among the upper castes that the BJP, which is a party they have been loyal to, is pandering too much to the lower castes and doing little for its own traditional voter,” said the party source.

As per the 2011 census, Dalits comprise 16.6 per cent of the country’s population while scheduled tribes are 8.6 per cent of the population. Muslims constitute around 14 per cent of the population. The BJP’s assessment is that upper castes make up for roughly 25-30 per cent of the population, thus remaining a key chunk.

The conundrum

The party, however, continues to be in a dilemma about how to solve this conundrum. No clear strategy has been drawn up yet, party sources said, but the BJP brass has directed all CMs and other key units to design a blueprint and do all that can be done to assuage the upper castes.

Last month, ThePrint carried out an in-depth analysis of the caste profile of BJP’s organisational structure, revealing the party’s continuing upper caste, particularly Brahmin-Baniya, domination with backward castes getting only slightly more representation within states as compared to the national level, owing to the wide OBC umbrella.

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4 COMMENTS

  1. During Gujarat assembly elections Modiji criticized Congress indulging caste politics instead of his so called economic development politics now BJP highcommand indulge Mandal cum Ambedkar politics to retain Power by hook or crook.

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