Haryana’s caste fault lines: Congress, BJP play to their strengths in ticket distribution

A measure of how caste calculations influence the electoral politics of Haryana can be gauged from the ticket distribution by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress for the October 5 assembly elections.

The two parties have played to their strengths while selecting candidates for the assembly elections with the BJP allocating one third of the tickets to upper caste non-Jat communities like Brahmins, Punjabi-Khatri, Vaish and Rajputs. The Congress, on the other land, has allocated one third of tickets to Jats (25) and Jat Sikhs (4), though the representation of Jats is on a decline as compared to the tickets allotted to them by the Congress in 2014 (28 Jats) and 2019 (26 Jats) assembly polls.

The politics of backward classes

An analysis of ticket distribution by the two national parties shows that it is the 33% backward classes (BCs) and 22% scheduled castes (SCs) which are being eyed both by the BJP and the Congress for the 2024 assembly polls. The Congress has fielded 24 candidates including three Meo-Muslims from the backward classes. While 19 of them are from the BC-B category comprising six castes of Ahir, Gujjar, Lodha, Saini, Meo and Gosain, five come from BC-A category comprising 72 castes like Kamboj, Bairagi. The BJP on the other hand has allotted party tickets to 23 candidates from backward classes, including two Meo-Muslims. The saffron party has fielded 18 candidates from the BC-B category and five from the BC-A category.

The saffron party is also banking on winning over the backward class voters on the basis of a fresh criteria it came up with for creamy layer. A month after it lost five Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, the BJP led by chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, a backward class leader, watered down the criteria for identifying persons in the creamy layer among the backward classes (BCs) for the purpose of reservation in public employment and educational institutions. With an eye on wooing the BCs before the assembly elections, the fresh criteria stipulated that children whose parents have gross annual income of ₹8 lakh or more or who possess wealth above the exemption limit prescribed in the Wealth Tax Act, 1957, for three successive years would be disentitled for BC reservation. More importantly, the new criteris is pretty generous as it bars clubbing of income from salaries or agricultural land for arriving at the gross annual income. The fresh income criteria notified on July 16 by the Saini government also meant that the BJP took a somersault on a 2021 decision, when Manohar Lal Khattar was at the helm, to keep those earning ₹6 lakh and above disentitled for BC reservation. Income from all sources was clubbed to arrive at the gross annual income under the old criteria, thus making it stringent.

Eye on scheduled caste votes

The BJP which recently accepted the recommendations of Haryana State Scheduled Castes Commission regarding subclassification of scheduled castes for the purpose of reservation in government jobs into two categories following an August 1 Supreme Court ruling has given tickets to nine candidates from the deprived scheduled castes (DSC) and eight tickets to Other Scheduled Castes (OSC). As per the subclassification done by the state SC Commission, the deprived scheduled castes (DSC) comprising 36 castes such as Balmikis, Dhanaks, Mazhabi Sikhs, Khatik will get reservation in 50% of the 20% reserved vacancies in government as it concluded that the deprived scheduled castes were not adequately represented in government employment. The OSC comprised castes such as Chamar, Jatia Chamar, Rehgar, Raigar, Ramdasi, Ravidasi, Jatav, Mochi, Ramdasia.

The Congress, on the other hand, has given party tickets to 12 candidates from other scheduled castes and five from the deprived scheduled castes (DSC). “It is quite evident that the BJP is trying to woo the deprived scheduled castes and take political advantage of the subclassification of scheduled castes,” said an official who has worked in the Welfare of SCs and BCs department.

As per ballpark statistics, Jats account for about 25% of the state’s population, the Punjabis for about 8%, Brahmins 7.5%, Ahirs 5.20%, Vaish 5%, Gujjars 3.50% per cent, Jat Sikhs 4%, Rajputs 3%, Sainis 2.9%, Kumhars 2.7%, Meos and Muslims are about 3.8%.

BJP’s strategy to consolidate non-Jat votes

The BJP, which rode to power in the state in 2014 primarily due to its ability to consolidate the non-Jat voters, has tried to do it yet again. For instance, the party has fielded three Brahmin candidates in Jat dominated constituencies – Uchana Kalan, Safidon and Gohana, all in close proximity with Uchana and Safidon in Jind district. Similarly, it has given tickets to three Brahmins in assembly segments falling in Faridabad Parliamentary constituency – Ballabhgarh, Palwal and Prithla. Congress leader and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda though has dismissed the BJP’s caste consolidation game plan saying it won’t work.