The Samajwadi Party is sore over the Centre's move to set up a commission to examine whether sub-quotas need to be created for marginalised castes in Central list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
This sub-quota would be constituted within the existing 27 per cent reservation for socially and educationally other backward classes. In 2001, the then Chief Minister Rajanth Singh had tried to split the 27 percent OBCs quota in the state into three categories but it was lost in legal battle.
In the last twwo decades, UP is the only state which has resisted the move to split the 27 percent quota for OBCs among various social groups and give separate quota to marginalized castes within the OBCs, known as most backward and extremely backward.
Sources said that the state government is in the process of splitting the 27 percent quota for OBCs among different groups to ensure that the marginalized castes benefited.
The move with abundant electoral possibilities ahead of 2019 lok Sabha poll will have special bearing in the state. Both Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj party have consistently resisted the move to split the OBC quota.
Eleven stated - Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Puducherry, Karnataka, Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir have such categorisation in state government jobs.
In 2001, the Rajnath Singh government set up a Social Justice Committee headed by then cabinet minister Hukum Singh which recommended that since the dominant Yadav community has cornered the lion's share of 27 percent quota for OBCs, the quota be split in three categories as backward, most backward and extremely backward.
The Rajnath Singh government also amended UP Public Services (Reservation) Act to include fresh categories of OBCs. The Act was challenged in Allahabad High Court and later it was repealed by Singh'ss successor Mayawati in 2002 as she headed the BSP-BJP coalition government.
The Samajawadi Party had vociferously opposed the move claiming that the move was inspired by the BJP's design to drive a wedge among different castes of OBCs.
The BSP too had opposed the report of Social Justice Committee as it had recommended a split in 21 percent quota for Schedule Castes in three categories.
The present move of BJP-led NDA government attemtping to split the 27 percent OBC quota is set to marginalize caste-based secular parties like the SP and the BSP.
By increasing representation of marginalized OBCs groups in March 2017 Assembly poll, the BJP is set to further dent the vote bank of the SP and BSP if the sub-category within 27 per cent quota could be managed in the Central list of OBCs.
The sub-categorization of OBCs will end dominance of any single caste like Yadavs within the OBCs, who have so far cornered the bulk of government jobs and seats in educational institutions. The measure, a BJP leader said, is part of efforts to ensure greater social justice and inclusion of all castes included in the OBCs.
Janata Dal (United ) leader and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had carefully built up the 'ati-pichchara' ( Most Backward Castes) as his support base to politically counter Rashtriya Janata Dal chief lalu Prasad. The BJP seem to be experimenting with the same political formula to effectively counter the Samajwadi Party in UP.
With the setting up of a Commission, the BJP will attempt to replicate it nationwide to carve out its own political space among OBCs. With this strategy, the BJP will also lose its tag as a 'party of upper castes'. The Most Backward Caste make up for about 31 percent of the national population.