Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the issue of caste-based quotas is expected to become a politically explosive issue. A news agency has quoted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must publicize the caste census data done during the UPA-2 era. "It will be clear as to how many OBCs, STs, SCs, and minorities are there in the country," he added.
As per the Wayanad MP, the NDA government isn't releasing the data of the OBC census because PM Modi doesn't want to give the wealth of India to OBCs. His utterances make it clear that the Congress party is in league with regional parties like the RJD, JD(U) and Samajwadi Party on the issue of caste census.
Experts feel that the revival of the demand for a caste census is going to acquire disproportionate importance in 2024. Caste census is wanted by those parties who believe that quota politics can be revived and caste-based mobilization achieved to defeat the NDA in 2024.
Some Congress functionaries are openly saying that the issue has the "potential to change India’s political landscape." In a tweet, Srivatsa, a prominent Congress functionary from Karnataka opined that social justice around a population-based representation can become one of the biggest campaigns and has huge resonance among the masses. "In the Karnataka election itself, it can help Congress win 140+ seats and sweep the state," he added.
