Rahul Gandhi wants to make the issue of caste census an issue in the assembly elections. But people on the ground say that the issue of caste census is not affecting the voters in the election.

In the assembly elections of 5 states, the Congress party is trying to change its image. Meanwhile, in the backward decade, the BJP has made its mark as a party of the backward classes. Now the Congress is also constantly trying to get the votes of the backward classes. On Monday too, Rahul Gandhi, while giving a speech in MP, said that the caste census is like an X-ray for the society. Let’s see how effective the issue of caste census is proving to be in Madhya Pradesh politics

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday described the caste census in Satna as an X-ray, which will give complete details of different communities of the country. “Modi ji used to call himself OBC in his speeches earlier, but ever since I started talking about caste census, Modi ji says that there is no caste in the country, only the poor. That means there is only one OBC Narendra Modi in the country.

Rahul said that the government of Madhya Pradesh is run by Shivraj Singh Chouhan and 53 officers. Out of these 53 officers, only one officer belongs to the backward class. Yet CM Shivraj and PM Modi say that there is a backward government in Madhya Pradesh. Rahul had made a similar allegation when the Women’s Reservation Bill was introduced. He had said that out of the total 90 officers running the country, only 3 secretaries are from the OBC category, how will people of this section get justice? However, instead of the BJP, Rahul’s partner of the India alliance, the former UP Chief Minister has demanded a reply to Rahul Gandhi’s X-ray statement. “When Congress was in power, why didn’t it conduct caste census? Akhilesh said the grand old party is now advocating a nationwide caste-based survey to woo the lower strata of the society ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

According to a report in ThePrint, the BJP has fielded 79 upper caste candidates in Madhya Pradesh, while the Congress has given tickets to 83 upper caste candidates. Similarly, the BJP has fielded 69 candidates from the OBC community, while the Congress has fielded 62 OBC candidates. The Bharatiya Janata Party is also ahead of the Congress in giving tickets to OBCs. Similarly, by giving more tickets to upper castes than BJP and fewer tickets to OBCs than BJP, how is the Congress claiming to be pro-OBC? Rahul Gandhi has been consistently claiming less representation of OBC officers at the Centre and in the state, which is not under the control of any government or party. Perhaps this is the reason why a report in The Hindu says that from Gwalior Chambal in Madhya Pradesh to Bhopal-Hoshangabad and Mahakaushal etc., Rahul’s issue has no emphasis.

Rahul Gandhi may be insisting that caste census should become an issue in these elections, but the grassroots workers of Madhya Pradesh are not only confident that this issue is going to have an impact on voting. According to a report in The Hindu, a leader of a Madhya Pradesh Congress unit admitted that the issue has no impact among the general public. Not at all as the party was thinking.

“After the caste survey report came out in Bihar, the party’s top leadership raised this issue, but we know that it is not going to be the main issue in the elections. The Congress leader said the issue of caste census is a national issue. Assembly elections are being fought entirely on local issues. The same Congress leader also said that you will notice that Congress leaders are definitely promising a caste census, but Rahul Gandhi is only focusing on it in detail. Actually, Rahul Gandhi is preparing it for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In the battle between the Congress and the BJP for OBC votes, there is also talk of an OBC CM. Congress leaders are constantly telling the public that at present three CMs of Congress belong to OBC caste. Despite the BJP having governments in more states, only one state’s chief minister is an OBC. On the other hand, it is being repeatedly said by the BJP that the country’s PM Narendra Modi is also OBC and the state’s CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan is also an OBC.