While over 45% of Bihar’s population comprises OBCs, and an estimated 40–50% includes other extremely poor and marginalised communities, the credit for initiating the discourse may still be partially attributed to the RJD and the Congress. However, the perception of the NDA as ‘anti-caste census’ is expected to diminish significantly.Dr Nikhil Anand, the BJP OBC Morcha’s national general secretary and a senior leader in the Bihar BJP, affirmed the significance of the move. “The decision has once again reflected the PM Modi as being the single genuine well-wisher of OBC and poor castes with this decision,” he stated. Political observers believe that the strategic timing and national scope of this announcement could prove decisive for the NDA’s electoral prospects. It not only aligns with the aspirations of large voter segments but also reclaims the narrative that had been monopolised by the Opposition. As Bihar braces for another fiercely contested assembly election, caste remains an enduring reality of its political arithmetic, and this latest move may just have shifted the equation in favour of the NDA.
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