Bihar polls: Multiple claimants for OBC votes may trouble big parties

NEW DELHI: With the caste politics set to dominate the Bihar Assembly elections once again, the crucial Other Backward Castes (OBC) vote-bank is poised for multiple claimants amid the rise of the political aspirations among the fringe players outside the two alliances — the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance).

While the upper castes and the Muslims are likely to consolidate based on the set patterns in Bihar, the RJD and the JD(U) may have to face up with new competitors for their traditional support base.

The Mahagathbandhan consisting of the RJD-Congress-Left will, as per the past pattern, be seeking consolidations of the Muslim-Yadav-Dalit vote base, besides making determined a bid to make inroads in the extremely backward caste segments.

The NDA, on the other hand, will bank to polarise the upper castes, non-Yadav OBC, and Dalits. Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav with his Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) is seeking understanding with smaller parties to emerge as a political force in the state.

With the support base across the Purnia-Madhepura region of Bihar, considered most backward in the state, Pappu Yadav is a poll veteran, with stints in the RJD and the Congress in the past.

The Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), led by former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha banking on the sizable Koeri caste, is aiming to establish a pan-Bihar presence.

With the Koeri caste vote base spread out across the state, the RLSP is seen capable to cut into the support bases of the larger parties. The understanding between the RLSP and the JAP could pose a serious threat to both the NDA and the Grand Alliance in a few pockets of the state.

Along with Mukesh Sahini of the Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP), there is a likelihood of the Bihar polls witnessing a fresh crop of the political leaders, vying to demonstrate their electoral capabilities to position them with the bargaining power in future elections.   

With the BJP and JD(U) also bracing to consolidate the non-Yadav vote base by fielding a large number of candidates from smaller castes, RJD leader  CM Tejashwi Yadav will have a task cut out to cement hold over Yadavs.

During the heydays of the RJD, when former CM Lalu Prasad Yadav helmed the party, Rajputs in certain pockets used to combine with the Muslim-Yadav equations, which, however, has been dented in the recent years.