The upcoming Telangana Assembly elections have grabbed attention due to the BJP’s strategy of focusing on the Backward Classes (BC) to boost its prospects in the state. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that if the BJP comes to power, it will make a Backward Class leader the Chief Minister. This move has not only put the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) and the Congress on the defensive but has also highlighted the BJP’s focus on BC communities.
The BJP has given tickets to 20 BC candidates in its first list of candidates, out of the total 52 candidates announced so far. In contrast, the Congress has only 19 BC candidates in its lists. Backward Classes make up 52% of the total population in Telangana, according to the Unique Identification Authority of India.
The BJP’s strategy is to play out the narrative that the BRS has not fulfilled its promises to the BCs. The BRS had promised before the 2014 elections to save the Chief Ministerial post for a person from the Scheduled Caste, but this promise remains unfulfilled. The BJP intends to target the anger and discontent among Congress’s BC leaders who have been ignored in the ticket distribution process.
The Congress, on the other hand, has also realized the importance of the Backward Classes and constituted a panel to announce its BC Declaration ahead of the polls. However, the BJP has criticized the Congress’s demand for a caste census, terming it as a vehicle of social justice that has no takers.
It is worth noting that the BJP’s announcement of a BC Chief Ministerial candidate before the election results reflects a larger national strategy. The party aims to highlight the alleged dishonesty and mendacity in the promises made by the Congress-led alliance.
While the BJP’s focus on BC communities seems strategic, the party needs to address internal politics within its ranks. The replacement of Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay, a BC leader, with Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy, a dominant Other Caste (OC) leader, has not been well-received by the party members. The move to name a BC leader as the Chief Minister could be an attempt to woo back the Munnuru Kapus, a dominant BC caste, into the party fold. The BJP has influential BC leaders like Rajya Sabha MP K. Laxman, Bandi Sanjay, and Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind, who belong to the Munnuru Kapu community.
If the BJP manages to secure a majority in the 119-member Telangana Assembly, the Chief Minister is likely to be chosen from among these BC leaders. However, it’s important to note that there are internal disagreements among these leaders on various issues.
Overall, the BJP’s focus on the Backward Classes in Telangana is a calculated risk. It remains to be seen if this strategy will pay off in the upcoming Assembly elections and if it will reshape the political landscape in the state.
