The four-hour-long meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), held at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters on October 9, announced that it was unanimous in making “social justice” the main plank for the 2024 election.
The party’s highest decision-making body made three announcements to this effect: a government led by the Congress would conduct a caste census to find the number of other backward classes (OBCs), remove the cap of 50% reservation for OBCs, Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) through an act of Parliament, and finally, offer 33% quota to women lawmakers, including a separate quota for OBC women, at the earliest.
The CWC resolution was a natural outcome of the party’s formulation after the Bihar caste survey results were out. Noting that OBCs, SCs and STs together made up 84% of the population, former party chief Rahul Gandhi argued that “rights of a community should be proportional to its population in society”.
However, behind closed doors, some CWC members advised caution. Senior leader Ramesh Chennithala argued that numbers alone cannot be the only determinant of backwardness, while his colleague, Manish Tewari, advised against removing the 50% cap and quoted B.R. Ambedkar to argue that “equality should be the rule and affirmative action should be the exception”.
But the CWC eventually endorsed the line set by Mr. Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge, during the Special Session of Parliament.
In the Lok Sabha, Mr. Gandhi argued that only three, out of a total of 90 Secretaries to the Government of India (GOI), were from OBC and they merely handled 5% of India’s budget. In a complete U-turn from its earlier position on the women’s bill, Mr. Kharge, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, argued for quota within quota for OBC women.
Both these positions were in sync with regional parties of the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc that has always championed the cause of OBCs. By aligning its position with these regional players, the Congress did not allow the women’s reservation law to drive a wedge between INDIA partners.
But that is not the only calculation. An emphasis on caste could counter the BJP’s successful strategy of bringing different castes and disparate interest groups under one large Hindutva umbrella since 2014. The 2017 Assembly elections in Gujarat can serve as a pointer. Patidar agitation leader, Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor of the OSS [OBC, SC, ST] Ekta Manch and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani formed a rainbow coalition of different caste interests that helped the Congress put up its best performance in over decades with 77 seats. All three leaders had also joined the Congress at different points of time but Mr. Patel and Mr. Thakor have joined the BJP since then and only Mr. Mevani now remains with the Opposition party.
The other assessment in the Congress camp is that the “forward castes” have been consistent in their support of the BJP and the party needs to expand its base among OBCs, SCs, STs and minorities. However, such a strategy could also lead to friction with the regional players as parties such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Samajwadi Party, and the Janata Dal-United among others built a base among the same voter segment in the post-Mandal era.
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“Caste-census isn’t a matter of politics for us, it’s about ensuring justice,” Mr. Gandhi told reporters at the CWC press conference on being asked about his party’s political calculation.
The former Congress chief also dismissed a question on whether the upcoming Assembly elections would be a ‘litmus test’ for their new strategy by suggesting that such tests are “applied in chemistry and not in politics”. But irrespective of his assertion, the Congress’ caste calculus is likely to be tested in the electoral field.
