Leaderless game-changer: 24% EBC vote will decide who wins Bihar

QUICK PILL

The vote bank

• EBCs account for 24% of Bihar\'s electorate. Their vote will be decisive in the polls

• EBCs are divided into 94 castes. They are disunited and scattered across Bihar

The claimants

• RSS-BJP have been engaged in an extensive outreach among EBCs

• Nitsh Kumar created the EBC category in some ways. He is banking on their support

More in the story

• \'Who to vote for\' isn\'t the most important question for EBCs

It has almost become cliched to say that caste will be the deciding factor in the Bihar Assembly elections. This observation misses one important reality, that the nature of caste politics in Bihar has undergone significant changes. One of the most important changes has been the emergence of Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) as a social and political category. This section accounts for over 24% of the electorate in Bihar.

Who are EBCs?

This class comprises 94 castes. Many of these castes are small in number and scattered in terms of their geographical distribution.

Unlike OBC communities like Yadavs and Kurmis, they have failed to assert themselves politically. Therefore, they failed to emerge as important vote banks.

One of the main reasons for their lack of politicisation is the economic and educational backwardness of these communities.

Barring caste groups like Kushwahas and Telis, the population of other EBC caste groups like Chandravanshis (Kahatwa, Dhanuk, Gaderia) is nominal.

In Bihar these EBC communities are known as Pachpania or Panchpawaniyan.

In Bihar's feudal setup, these communities thrived on what they earned by serving feudal lords on occasions like marriages, deaths and other ceremonies.

Most of these communities haven't witnessed the emergence of important leaders.

One community which is an exception to this are Nishads, among whom leaders have emerged from time to time. They are heavily concentrated in North Bihar.

Of late, many EBC communities have demanded that they be included in the Scheduled Caste category.

BJP-RSS outreach

For the last few years the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh has been relentlessly trying to incorporate these communities within a broader framework of Hindu pride.

It organised several functions targeting these communities. In these functions, the Hindu identity of the community and its leaders is highlighted.

Guided by the RSS, the BJP has been organising caste based functions for these communities. The party's outreach may yield some dividends in the elections.

Unlike Yadavs and Kurmis, EBCs couldn't assert themselves. There hasn't been any big EBC leader

The fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself belongs to the Teli community, which is listed as EBC in Bihar, may go in the BJP's favour.

Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samata Party is part of the NDA. The NDA could bank upon the support of the Kushwaha community.

Nitish Kumar's claim

EBC as a category was created by Nitish Kumar. He understood the importance of mobilising these communities.

It was Nitish who gave 17% reservation to EBCs in local body elections

He says that EBCs had been given due recognition and constitutional status due to his efforts.

An important Nishad outfit, Nishad Vikas Sangh, has extended unconditional support to Nitish's alliance. It's leader Mukesh Sahni was in negotiations with the NDA as well but in the end he decided to throw his lot with Nitish.

What to watch out for

Whom will the EBCs support?

Will they even vote as a unified category?

How many EBCs are given tickets by the two major alliances and how many will eventually get elected?

Will the parties' efforts to woo EBCs lead to greater political representation for these communities?