NEW DELHI: The "soft" attitude of the Bharatiya Janata Party to the Supreme Court stay on the law on 27 per cent quota for Other Backward Classes in institutions of higher learning is the result of the party's desire not to alienate either the forward or the backward castes.

Party leaders have conceded that in Uttar Pradesh, where the electoral process is underway, the BJP is banking heavily on getting the support of the forward castes, who, by and large, are opposed to extending quotas to institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institutes of Management and the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences.

At the same time, the party has made efforts to widen its appeal among the backward castes by projecting Kalyan Singh, a `Lodh' leader, as its chief ministerial candidate and forging an alliance with the Apna Dal that boasts of support among the `Kurmis.' In short, it is hoping to get the support of the backward castes other than the `Yadavs,' whose support for the Samajwadi Party is being taken for granted.

The BJP's public stand is that it supports reservation. It supported the bill that extended reservation to Centrally-funded institutions. But it has faulted the Government for not arguing the case properly before the Supreme Court.

However, privately, some party leaders say they are against another caste-based census, that the 1931 census is enough to show that the backward castes constitute a much higher percentage of the total population than the 27 per cent quota being advocated for them. The BJP is aware that a nine-judge bench in the Mandal Commission case upheld 27 per cent quota on the basis of the 1931 census.

Cornered

Another viewpoint is that the BJP should try to work on a "most backward classes" plank, as a major chunk of the 27 per cent quota implemented for government jobs have been cornered by the `creamy layer' among the backward castes. In fact, party president Rajnath Singh tried to play the "most backward classes' card when he was Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister but failed to get his recommendations through the courts.

The BJP spokespersons have made it clear that the party is for a small quota for the economically poor among the forward castes. But the idea has not moved ahead as there is no constitutional basis for providing that kind of reservation. But repeating the strategy does the party no harm as it sends the message to its constituency among the forward castes that it is mindful of its needs.

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