Madhya Pradesh - OBC Pressure Jolts BJP, Congress

The sudden emergence of OBCs as a separate sociopolitical group in Madhya Pradesh is turning out to be a major challenge for political parties, especially the ruling BJP, ahead of the 2023 assembly polls

- Sravani Sarkar

The rainy evening of July 20 witnessed a rare post-poll scenario in Madhya Pradesh as celebrations erupted simultaneously at the BJP and Congress headquarters in Bhopal, situated within 3km of each other. The ruling BJP claimed that it swept the local body polls, winning up to 90 per cent of the seats (at ward level) and nine of the 16 mayoral posts. The Congress said the BJP actually suffered a big setback, losing seven mayor posts, including those in cities like Gwalior and Jabalpur, which the saffron party had won in the 2014-15 polls. Five of those seats were won by the Congress; the Aam Aadmi Party took Singrauli and an independent won Katni. The Congress lost two mayoral seats (Burhanpur and Ujjain) by wafer-thin margins.

The BJP said the “historic win” was a big show of faith by the voters in its leadership and its development policies. The Congress countered that the big losses demonstrated that the people were turning back to the Congress.

Political watchers felt that the BJP would have to introspect about its losses, especially in the mayor posts, while the Congress needed to assess the obvious lack of support at the urban ward levels. Both parties, in the view of analysts, would have to seriously consider the sudden emergence of the OBCs (Other Backward Classes) as a separate sociopolitical group or a “vote base”. The simmering resentment of the OBCs on the quota issue might have served as an undercurrent in the polls, especially precipitating losses for the BJP in urban areas.