Headlines
Bhagwat's remark proves a blessing for Lalu, Nitish (News Analysis)
By
Imran KhanPatna, Sep 24
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's
reported remark suggesting a review of job and education quotas appears
to have proved a blessing in disguise for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
and his ally Lalu Prasad ahead of Bihar's assembly elections.
RJD
and JD-U leaders say that Bhagwat's statement -- later denied -- would
help the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Janata Dal-United to shore up
their support among Other Backward Class and Dalits. And the remark has
clearly landed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a spot.
Amid
the campaigning for the October-November assembly polls, BJP president
Amit Shah, union ministers and BJP leaders have tried to distance the
party from the issue. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) too has come
out with a clarification saying Bhagwat had been misunderstood.
But
Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar are banking on Bhagwat's remarks on job
and education quotas he made in an interview, triggering a backlash.
BJP
leaders feel the issue might hurt the BJP in a state where the caste
factor plays a major role. Any suggestion that reservations in jobs and
education meant for poor and backward voters might be taken away is
bound to cause harm in electoral politics.
"It is likely to put the BJP in a tight spot," a senior BJP leader said.
Both
Nitish and Lalu Prasad enjoy strong support among the OBCs, Extreme
Backward Class and Dalits. They will surely play up the RSS chief's
remark to create both fear and anger among these classes.
The
comment has given them a readymade issue to woo the OBCs, EBCs and
Dalits by projecting the RSS and BJP as "anti-reservation and
anti-backward and anti-Dalit".
Nitish Kumar has repeatedly
attacked the RSS and BJP over the quota issue, and described Bhagwat's
reported statement as a "dangerous thought and unconstitutional".
He said political compulsions due to the Bihar assembly polls had forced the BJP to distance itself from the RSS chief.
Socio-political
analyst Soroor Ahmad said Mandal politics was being revived in the
Bihar elections as Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly talked of
backward castes, particularly the Yadavs.
He felt Bhagwat's
remark might push many fence-sitters among the backward castes and
Dalits into the fold of the grand alliance that also has the Congress
besides the RJD and JD-U.
Ahmad said the BJP cannot afford to
lose the overwhelming support of the upper castes but is at the same
time trying hard to court the backward castes.
Lalu Prasad, who
was the first to react to the RSS chief's remark on Monday, said 80
percent of the country's population was made up of Dalits and backwards
who would oppose any attempt to do away with reservation.
"The RSS is talking about ending reservation and we are talking of increasing it on the basis of population," Lalu said.
JD-U leaders in Patna have hinted that the JD-U, RJD and Congress would make the reservation remark a major election issue.