Foot soldiers of the Mandal revolution, the Economic Backward Castes (EBCs) occupy the bottom of the empowerment pyramid in terms of social and political mobility. This beehive of lowly-placed groups, known as the EBCs, consists of more than one hundred sub-castes. Unlike Yadavs, Kurmis, Kuswahas, and Dalits, they do not have any prominent face to give voice to their collective aspirations, but every political party is now trying to prop up leaders from this group to send a message to nearly 30-32 per cent EBC voters that they too matter in this highly polarised elections in Bihar.
Given the fact that major castes and communities stand firmly on either side of the divide and their vote shares nearly cancel out each other, these meek EBCs could be powerful enough to decide the fate of the mightiest.
looking purely through a prism of caste politics with a rider that other factors and variables will obviously matter too, it is easy to see that in case of the JD(U), the party’s core vote stands at 35 per cent: Yadav (14 per cent) Muslim (16 per cent), Kurmis and Dhanuks (five per cent).
Similarly, the BJP’s core vote is around the same: upper caste 13 per cent, Kushwaha six per cent; Dalits and mahadalits 10 per cent (assuming some will surely go to the JD(U) and the BSP and the CPI (M-l); and Baniya six per cent. Since both match point-to-point, the EBCs are bound to hold the key.
For the better part of its alliance with the JD(U), the BJP ignored the EBCs caste group that has 108 sub-castes. This gave Nitish Kumar a freehand in cultivating their support base. In the OBC-dominated Mandal politics, these castes did not get their due till Nitish realised their potential as a powerful vote bank and started reaching out to them.
During the last six month, the BJP has tried to make amends. The party organised a series of rallies and functions and promised greater political empowerment to the EBCs. The emergence of six-time BJP MlA Prem Kumar as a chief ministerial candidate has also raised the expectation of the EBCs.
In 2005, Assembly polls, the BJP fielded seven EBC candidates and five of them won. In 2010, the party fielded eight EBC candidates and seven of them won. On the other hand, in 2010, the JD(U) fielded 14 EBC candidates and 12 of them won.
Among the EBC formation, sub-caste like Mallah, Nishad, Bind, Gangota, Sahni, Chai, etc, who are depended on water-related living sources, constitute nearly seven per cent of the total population. The BJP has one MP, Vijendra Chaudhary from Jhanjharpur, from this segment. The party is also counting on Ajay Nishad, the son of former Union Minister Captain Jai Narain Nishad and Ramchandra Sahini to reach out to these voters.
On the other hand, the Nitish-led alliance got a big boost on Thursday in its attempt to woo the Mallahs by roping in Mukesh Sahni — a film producer-turned-politician from North Bihar, fond of calling himself the “Son of Mallah”. Mukesh has tried to fill the leadership vacuum in his caste by floating the Sahni Samaj Kalyan Sanstha. He also organised a massive rally of Mallahs in Patna in April. The State unit of the BJP tried its best to woo Mukesh and facilitated his meeting with party chief Amit Shah on Tuesday, but Mukesh decided to support the Nitish-led alliance. Nitish Kumar recently played political master stroke by passing a Cabinet recommendation for the inclusion of Sahni (known also as Nishad and Mallah) and Nonia under the category of SC/ST.
like, Nishad, Dhanuk too are powerful constituents of the EBCs and are estimated to be around 2.5 per cent. They are seen sharing a common lineage with the Kurmis, but they have not got their share in power and are forced to live on the fringe as agriculture labours or small time farmers. Dhanuks are solidly behind Nitish Kumar.
Teli and Kanu Halwai together consist of around 5.5 per cent votes. In Rajendra Gupta, the BJP has a well-known face from Kanu Halwai segment. A dedicated party man, Gupta is in-charge of the Magadh division and is confident that his caste will squarely back the BJP.
“I don’t want to talk about caste politics. The BJP is focussed on development alone, but the people of my caste realise that their lives have not changed under the rules of lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar. I’m sure they will give the BJP a chance,” he said.
RJD national spokesperson Manoj Jha, however, asserts that the EBC are going to throw their lot behind the “grand alliance”. “The poorest of the poor know every well that the feudal elements who exploited them for centuries are the engine of the NDA. The EBC will not trust them ever,” he said.
lohar, Badhai, Gangota, Patwa, Tati, Tantwa, etc., are others important constituents of the EBC formation. They have a marginal presentation in politics and around one per cent vote each, but put together they are a powerful block.
The EBC are unlikely to vote as one monolith block, but of the two alliances whichever gets their majority backing can hope to gain a decisive edge in the battle of Bihar!