Riding on assembly wins, BJP pivots to 'development' narrative to counter Opposition's caste census demand

The results of the assembly elections, where the BJP's victory in Madhya Pradesh and its surprise win in Chhattisgarh, in addition to the Rajasthan win, has bolstered the BJP’s argument that the party delivers developmental politics. In his victory speech on Sunday, in response to the Opposition's demand for a caste census, PM Modi said that for the party there are only four castes — women, poor, farmers, and youth.

New Delhi: Using the results of the assembly elections, where it registered an impressive tally in three states, the BJP has sought to shift the conversation around the caste census to one centred on “development” and “welfare.” In his victory speech on Sunday, in response to the Opposition's demand for a caste census, PM Modi said that for the party there are only four castes — women, poor, farmers, and youth.

On Monday, at the beginning of the Winter session of Parliament, he continued to emphasize the BJP’s “good governance” and stated that people are now voting for “pro-incumbency.”

“And when there is good governance, complete support for people’s interest, then the word anti-incumbency becomes irrelevant… We are continuously seeing that... Some call it pro-incumbency, some call it good governance, some transparency,” Modi said.

The party’s Telangana in-charge, Prakash Javadekar, said that the Opposition’s demand for a caste census is a “division” and is not in “national interest.” “PM Modi is saying that the Opposition should not play divisive politics; he has integrated the society on the basis of ‘nation first’ and their skill implementation irrespective of caste, creed, and religion. People vote for unity and the interest of the nation,” Javadekar said.

Congress’s in-charge for Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, Randeep Surjewala, said that caste is the reality of this country which no party can ignore. “A caste census is not divisive; to ensure social justice, the determination of numbers of castes is an important mechanism. Political parties give tickets every day by looking at the numbers of the caste in a particular assembly or Parliament. It’s a reality,” Surjewala said.

The results of the assembly elections, where the BJP's victory in Madhya Pradesh and its surprise win in Chhattisgarh, in addition to the Rajasthan win, has bolstered the BJP’s argument that the party delivers developmental politics. In this round of the election campaigns, especially in MP and Rajasthan, the party sought to project most of its welfare schemes over any popular leader.

Whether it is the cash incentive Ladli Behna scheme in MP, its promise to give 200 units of electricity in Rajasthan, or the promise to make gas cylinders available at Rs 500 in Chhattisgarh – the party was building a narrative on offers as opposed to its oft-repeated narratives built on Modi’s popularity, anti-nationalism, and polarisation.

This is not the first counter by Modi in response to the Opposition’s demands for a caste census. His first counter came during a poll rally in Telangana’s Nizamabad in October this year where, responding to the ‘jitni abaadi, utna haq’ war cry by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, he said that if delimitation will be carried out based on population, then South India was set to lose 100 seats.

He also said, in consequent election rallies, that this will also mean that minorities will have reduced rights. The party’s line has been that the Opposition was trying to divide the country along caste lines.

Surjewala says that the BJP has made historic flip-flops on the caste census issue. “The BJP supported the caste census on the floor of the Parliament in Lok Sabha when the Congress ordered it. The BJP’s deputy CM in UP made a public statement in support of Rahul Gandhi’s stance on the census. It is now for the BJP to specify where they stand,” Surjewala said.

Senior BJP leaders said that the party’s 2024 campaign will be woven around the same messaging. Javadekar said that the narrative is simple — rewards based on consequence, not on the privilege of birth.

“It is empowerment, not 'welfarism'. For instance, in Telangana, we promised Rs 2 lakh at the birth of a girl child, laptops for girls in college, loans at 1 per cent interest for women in SHGs – all these are empowerment. We don’t believe in just distributing money, but with a purpose. We believe in giving a chance to people not on the basis of their birth but of their skills and their situation,” Javadekar said.

The party also plans to carry out an OBC survey ahead of the 2024 elections as a counter. Speculations are also rife that among the chief ministers in the three states, the party may choose OBC faces in some.