Caste Arithmetic In Bihar Elections: Congress Tries Its Old 'Dalit, Muslim, And Upper Caste' Formula скачать в хорошем качестве

Caste Arithmetic In Bihar Elections: Congress Tries Its Old 'Dalit, Muslim, And Upper Caste' Formula

The Congress, which last held power in Bihar three decades ago, is desperate to regain a semblance of prominence in the state. The party also wants to disprove the impression that it is overwhelmingly dependent on Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for votes. To achieve these twin objectives, the Congress has fallen back on a caste and community arithmetic that had kept it in power in Bihar for most of the 43 years until 1990. The party’s ‘winning combination’ was the votes of upper castes, Dalits and Muslims. In a bid to revive this arithmetic, the Congress has distributed tickets to its once-traditional support groups. The party is contesting from 70 seats this time. The upper castes have got the highest share of Congress tickets, followed by Dalits, Muslims and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). It has given 33 tickets to upper castes — 11 of them Bhumihars, nine Rajputs, nine Brahmins and four Kayasthas. The upper castes, who form 15 per cent of Bihar’s electorate, had remained solidly behind the Congress until the Ram Mandir movement led them en masse to the saffron camp. Dalits, who form 16 per cent of the state’s electorate, have been fielded by the Congress from 13 seats while Muslims, who form nearly 17 per cent of the state’s population, got 12 tickets. The OBCs, even though they form 51 per cent of Bihar’s population, have been given 11 tickets by the Congress. #BiharElections #CasteArithmetic #Congress #VoteBank Subscribe to Swarajya on YouTube. Get a Swarajya subscription: https://subscriptions.swarajyamag.com... Website: https://swarajyamag.com/ Twitter:   / swarajyamag   Facebook:   / swarajyamag