Three 'R's & BJP's counterploy! Ram, Rohini or Reservation?

Months ahead of the 2024 general elections, BJP may need some skilled political manoeuvring and expertise to not let its Hindutva vote bank agenda be hit by the latest Opposition attempt to revive Mandal politics, which has now taken centre-stage with the release of caste data by the Bihar government..

Caste politics has always been a potent counter to BJP's Hindutva politics even though under the Modi-Shah duo, the party has been able to shed its image of a Brahmin-Baniya party and has always sported its OBC credentials...

With the new caste count likely to raise a clamour for a review of reservation for backwards and with all the Opposition parties of INDIA bloc demanding a caste census, BJP may have to take a detour from its tried and tested 'labharthi' politics which it had used to consolidate the Hindutva vote bank by not letting it divide on caste lines...

And the two options which seem to be available before BJP are: Implementing the Rohini Commission, which was formed to suggest internal quota within OBC reservation, and further heightening Hindu consciousness by inaugurating the Ram temple to blur caste lines further...

It would be interesting to see what BJP does in the coming days to counter this new caste challenge from the Opposition - whether it will combine Ram with Rohini or explore the option of revising the reservation percentage...

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