In an election rally in Chhattisgarh’s Balod on Tuesday, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that a caste census would help to provide equal representation to every section of society and draft policies for their welfare. The pledge to conduct a caste census is one of the key promises being made by the Congress in the States where it is contesting Assembly elections this month. Along with its allies in the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), the Congress aims to make caste representation — and the demand for a nationwide caste census — a focal point of the Lok Sabha election slated to be held next year. Ms. Vadra asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hails from an other backward class (OBC) community himself, rejected the demand for a caste count. “BJP leaders have become frustrated with our demand,” she said. Later in the day, the coalition government in Bihar — that includes the Congress and INDIA bloc partners, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal (United) as key constituents — approved a proposal to increase reservations in the State for various marginalised groups hours after the State’s caste survey report was tabled in the Assembly.