PATNA: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will face its first test in Bihar following the sudden decision to conduct a caste census, a move whose impact will be closely watched in a state where Other Backward Classes (OBC) politics holds significant sway.Although the BJP virtually played a masterstroke by unexpectedly announcing a caste count, opposition parties, particularly Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress, are left with no option but to face the reality and make claims that they have been demanding it since long.Bihar was the first state to demand a caste census, and an all–party delegation, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2021 to push for a caste-based census. Later Bihar government conducted the survey from its own resources when the Centre expressed its inability to conduct the caste census.Nitish later switched sides and joined hands with RJD-led Mahagathbandhan in August 2022. The findings of the survey were released in October 2023, and subsequently, reservation was hiked from 50 per cent to 65 per cent, in addition to a 10 per cent quota for WES and above.Bihar, already surcharged in view of the forthcoming assembly election, is poised to witness OBC politics as polls draw closer. The Bihar caste-based survey revealed that EBC (extremely backwards classes), which comprises 112 castes and OBC, which constitutes 30 castes, together made 63.13 per cent of the state’s population.Similarly, Scheduled Castes accounted for 19.65 per cent of the population, while Scheduled Tribes made up 1.68 per cent. Upper castes comprised just 15.52 per cent of the state’s total population.
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