Union Home Minister Amit Shah
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) has urged the Union Government to include seven caste groups in the central list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in poll-bound Maharashtra. These includes the Lodh, Lodha, and Lodhi castes, the Badgujar caste, the Suryavanshi Gujar caste, the Leve Gujar, Reve Gujar and Reva Gujar castes, the Dangari caste, the Bhoyar and Pawar castes, as well as the Kapewar, Munnar Kapewar, Munnar Kapu, Telanga, Telangi, Pentarreddy, Bukekari castes and communities.
A two-member Bench of the Commission, composed of chairperson Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, and member Bhuvan Bhushan Kamal, held hearings regarding the inclusion, on October 17 last year and on July 26 this year in Mumbai.
“The final decision to tender the advice to the Union Government for the inclusion of the above castes under the Central List of OBCs, for the State of Maharashtra, was taken on October 8, 2024,” the ministry said in a release. The Commission then sent a communication to the Centre on Wednesday.
Some of the communities, such as the Badgujar, Suryavanshi Gurjar, Bhoyar and Pawar, Dandari castes are considered as OBC in the Maharashtra state list, while castes such as Kapewar, Munnar Kapewar, Munnar Kapu, Telanga, Telangi, Pentarreddy, Bukekari, etc. are part of the Notified Tribes list.
The move is likely to help the ruling BJP alliance in the poll-bound state, with the BJP increasingly looking at consolidating the OBC caste groups.