Cashing in on the caste factor: Will it work?

As far as optics go, the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and the timing of the release of the caste survey by the INDIA group seems perfect. After nearly a decade in near wilderness to combat the unique, potent patchwork of castes put into action by NDA in the strategic Hindi belt and elsewhere, the anti-Modi group finally has found a route map, one feels.

Given the explosive and combative interplay of forces on this issue of proportionate reservation, the two dissenting voices of Rahul Gandhi and one of his party senior leaders, Abhishek Singhvi seems more attention-grabbing now. Ever the spotlight moth, Narendra Modi too has raised a counterpoint querying his opponents whether they are no more bothered about the rights of Muslims.

Singhvi’s opinion that the ‘jitni abaadi, utna haq’ comment of Rahul Gandhi may ultimately end up bolstering majoritarianism (a post which he subsequently deleted) is a give-away about how the GOP is squaring up to addressing the demands of the resurgent Hindu community, openly standing up to all things fair and foul, regarding their religion.

Soft Hindutva, generous display of observing ritualistic practices like temple worship etc has held a mirror to the current approach of the Congress in owning up to their religious identity and not subsuming it always under the garb of secularism, which they seem to be eternally proud of.

However, with many other states and political outfits urging their own governments and the Centre simultaneously to initiate surveys to determine the caste composition of the country, it can give a lead as of present to the Opposition to hog media space, initiate debates among public and assess the churn this move will create among aspirants of various castes who are clamouring for their share of the pie in the elections that are about to take place from the year end.

One of the many declarations that the INDIA group meetings in various parts of the country in the past few months had highlighted the need to work together in states where the individual parties are in opposing camps ‘as far as possible’. With regional parties primarily built on caste platforms all over the country, it would also mean they have to rework their approaches to appear inclusive to the optimal level, if they are to win across caste combinations and social coalitions.

In the 1990s, the caste factor had effectively countered the communal surge in the Hindi belt to keep them tied down till the end of the decade, before the rabid Right captured power at the Centre to attain their long-cherished dream of ushering in an alternate form of governance between 1998-2004.

It is a different matter that the NDA-I under A B Vajpayee-L K Advani duo were masters in political management, having lived long in the Opposition space to understand that this was their last and best chance to stay on top of the greasy pole.

With Narendra Modi and NDA-II cruising from one five-year term to another in the last decade of the new millennium, the real challenge for the INDIA alliance is to show intent, a workable action plan acceptable to its multiple constituents and ride successfully into New Delhi. Will the caste factor help them or will they be outcasts once again, we will have to watch the developments awaiting to unfold.