Eye on Dalits and EBC votes, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar flags off Bhim Sansad raths

PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday flagged off the Bhim Sansad raths at a function organized at his official residence at 1, Anne Marg in Patna.

The move is widely said to be an attempt to reach out to the vast chunk of socially-marginalized Dalit and Mahadalits sections of the society ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The development coming close on the heels of the just-released statistical data of the Bihar caste survey conducted by the state government assumes much political significance.

The survey has found the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) and Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs) emerging as the largest block with their combined population pegged at 63.13 per cent of state’s total population.

“During his 18 years in power, our leader (Nitish Kumar) has empowered the Dalits and Mahadalits not only socially and politically but also economically, and it’s our moral responsibility to make the common masses aware about it,” building construction department minister Ashok Kumar Choudhary told newsmen on Tuesday, profusely thanking the CM for transforming the fate of these sections.

He said the first thing Nitish did after coming to power in November 2005 was to form a separate department for welfare of this marginalized class.

“The annual budget of the welfare department which was only Rs 40.48 crore at one point of time has now gone up to Rs 1,600 crore,” Choudhary said.

“Quite a good number of people from these sections have also become Mukhiyas and this happened only because of the CM,” he added.

SC and ST Welfare minister Ratnesh Sada said the idea behind holding Bhim Sansad is to warn the deprived sections of the society about how the Narendra Modi government at the Centre was conspiring to scrap their reservation rights granted under the Constitution.

The Bhim Sansad is to be held at Veterinary College ground in Patna on November 5 where the JD(U) expects the presence of impressive crowds.

Analysts said although various parties have been scrambling to woo the politically significant EBCs, they have gone into overdrive to win their support especially after the recent caste survey brought out their “authentic” number for the first time in 92 years since the last caste census was conducted in the country in 1931 during the British rule.

The data shows the politically significant 113-caste groups nicknamed “EBC” constituting the largest chunk of 36.01 per cent along with the OBC at 27.12 per cent adding to a massive 63.13 per cent of state.

Courtesy : TOI

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