Date:09/04/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/04/09/stories/2004040904561300.htm

National - Elections 2004

And now, the emergence of 'gotra' politics

The smaller castes have realised that Mandalisation has led to the domination of one or two influential backward groups, says Javed M. Ansari.

In the fractured polity of Uttar Pradesh, it is tempting to see the elections as a four-horse race between the Samajwadi Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress. Easily intelligible as it may seem, this is not necessarily true. After a decade of hectic caste-based mobilisation and coalitions, politics in India's most populous State, which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha, has been reduced to the level of `gotra' (sub-caste) level calculations. Single leader parties, based on the "support'' of a single caste or a sub-caste, are mushrooming, though their "influence" may be restricted to a few districts.

Examples abound of the above phenomenon. There is the Kurmi-dominated Apna Dal in central Uttar Pradesh; the Rajbhar-dominated Bharatiya Samaj Party; the Rashtriya Samanta Dal that seeks to represent the Khushwahas; and the Pragatisheel Manna Samaj Party of the Binds and the Mallahs. In other States, such parties would be seen as mere spoilers. But Uttar Pradesh, it seems, is different. The smaller, caste-specific parties are dreaming big, hoping that winning even a single Lok Sabha seat will provide them with leverage in Delhi, translatable perhaps into a ministership in this era of coalitions. It is no longer just a question of the backward castes or the Dalits. In Uttar Pradesh, the sub-castes are now clamouring for their share of power.

At another level, the emergence of these sub-caste specific parties reflects the growing discontent and the fissures developing within the backward castes, with smaller groups seeking their own space. The smaller castes feel this can be done only by setting up their own parties, and not by being part of a larger conglomeration of the backward castes.

Backward caste politics came into its own after the V.P Singh-led National Front Government adopted the Mandal Commission recommendations, reserving jobs for members of the backward communities. In the post-Mandal period, some of the less influential backward castes began realising that Mandal politics had led to the dominance of one or two of the backward castes that had the money, the muscle and political clout. The others felt they were being denied the benefits flowing from Mandalisation of the polity. Neither jobs nor political power had come their way.

The post-Mandal period saw a seismic shift in power equations in the Hindi heartland — in Uttar Pradesh, the SP claimed to be the party of the backward castes, while in Bihar, the pre-eminent position was claimed by the Rashtriya Janata Dal. This period also witnessed the meteoric rise of the BSP powered by the movement for Dalit empowerment. But somewhere along the way, the SP and the RJD came to be associated exclusively with the Yadavs, a powerful backward caste, while the BSP stood for the Jatavs, to the exclusion of the other smaller castes.

The emergence of smaller caste-specific parties is a signal that the smaller castes are straining to break free of the Yadav-Jatav political domination. The Koeris, Kurmis, Mallahs and the Binds now openly complain about the manner in which political power has come to be concentrated in the hands of these two communities. And they have begun demanding their share in power. It is this feeling of neglect that has motivated the smaller castes to form their own parties.

The Apna Dal, headed by Sohne Lal Patel, openly talks of the neglect and exclusion of the Kurmis from both jobs and political power. Mr. Patel accuses the SP and the BSP of favouring their own castes at the expense of the smaller castes. "We have to organise ourselves politically, for unless we have a share in the decision making process our lot will not improve," says Mr. Patel. The Apna Dal failed to win a single Lok Sabha in the 1999 elections, but in the State Assembly elections that followed, it managed to make its presence felt by winning four seats. "The re-awakening process has begun, we want to be masters of our own destiny," says Mr. Patel.

It is a sentiment that is echoed by Om Prakash Rajbhar, president of the Bharatiya Samaj Party. His anger is directed at the BSP supremo, Mayawati, whom he accuses of bartering away the interests of the Scheduled Castes. "When she is out of power she talks of all Dalits, but whenever she comes to power she only thinks of her own Jatavs," he says. The answer, according to him, lies in the political empowerment of his community.

The importance of a Sohne Lal Patel or Om Prakash Rajbhar can be gauged from the fact that national parties such as the Congress and the BJP did try to woo them, for, in the no-holds barred battle of the ballot in this State, every caste and every vote will count. After all, the BJP's national leaders preferred to forget the insults they traded with former colleague Kalyan Singh, all because of the `Lodh' factor. Mr. Singh has the Lodh sub-caste behind him, which could "influence'' the electoral outcome in some eight to 10 parliamentary seats.

As of now this movement towards smaller caste-based parties is at a nascent stage. Unless the process of fragmentation is contained by one of the major national parties, it could become an enduring part of the political landscape given their growing aspirations and their awareness of the power of caste politics.