KUSHWAHA, RAJPUR AND VAISHYA CASTES HAVE NO PLACE IN MODI CABINET

23-JULY-ENG 13

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA-------------------------After the caste census report came out, politics is happening around caste in Bihar. Some castes did not get a place in the Modi cabinet formation. After which the discussion started that the principle of participation as per the population was not followed. Read in detail.

NDA government was formed for the third time under the leadership of Narendra Modi at the center. 8 ministers from Bihar have got a place in the Modi cabinet. BJP has got four, JDU has got two, Chirag Paswan's party and Jitan Ram Manjhi's party have got one post each. After the caste census report came out, all the parties were talking about the participation of the caste as per the population in Bihar. This equation has not been kept in mind in the formation of Modi cabinet. Some castes have not got a place in the cabinet, after which politics has started in Bihar.

Two leaders from Bhumihar caste from Bihar have got a place in the cabinet. These are JDU's Lallan Singh and BJP's Giriraj Singh. Apart from this, Ramnath Thakur and Raj Bhushan Nishad have been made ministers of state from the extremely backward society. Chirag Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi have been included in the cabinet due to being big faces of Dalit leaders. Whereas leaders of Kushwaha, Rajput and Vaishya castes have not got a place in the cabinet.

There are 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. NDA has won 29 seats. Out of these 29 MPs, five MPs from Rajput caste have won. Among them, Radha Mohan Singh has become MP for the seventh time, Rajiv Pratap Rudy has been elected MP four times and Janardan Singh Sigriwal has been elected MP for the third time. It was believed that one of them would get a place in the cabinet. Even after this, no Rajput leader has got a place in the cabinet. Whereas, according to the recent caste census, the population of Rajput caste in Bihar is more than 3.50 percent. It is also considered to be the traditional vote bank of BJP. "Rajput, Kushwaha and Baniya castes have not been given a place in the Modi cabinet. Our leader Tejashwi Yadav talks about 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas'. BJP does politics of a few selected castes and only they have been given a place in the cabinet. Its effect will be seen in the assembly elections." - Ejaz Ahmed, spokesperson of Rashtriya Janata Dal

In the Lok Sabha elections, both the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and NDA alliances had their eyes on the Kushwaha vote bank. Both tried to woo this vote bank in their own way. Two Kushwaha MPs were elected from the Mahagathbandhan. Two Kushwaha candidates on NDA ticket - Vijayalakshmi from Siwan and Sunil Kumar from Balmiki Nagar won the elections, but the Kushwaha caste also did not get a place in the cabinet. Sanjay Jaiswal and Rajesh Verma from the Vaishya caste have won the elections. Sanjay Jaiswal has been a senior leader and state president of the BJP. He has become an MP for the fourth consecutive time, yet he has not got a place in the cabinet. "The Bharatiya Janata Party works on the slogan of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas'. Everyone has been taken care of in the cabinet expansion. The first cabinet has been formed. More expansion is to happen in the coming days. The party will take care of those leaders or castes that have not got a place." - Rakesh Singh, BJP spokesperson

Senior journalist Arun Pandey believes that Bihar's politics revolves around caste. In the cabinet formed at the center, some castes have been neglected. Especially these are the castes that are considered to be the core voters of the BJP. Rajput, Bania and Kushwaha castes have not got a place in the cabinet. Whereas the Rashtriya Janata Dal is dependent on the Kushwaha vote bank. In this election, Lalu Prasad Yadav had placed a big bet on the Kushwaha caste and was successful. If damage control is not done, the BJP may have to suffer the consequences in the assembly elections.