The results of the caste census done in Bihar were out on Monday. Below is the proportion of the population belonging to different caste groups:
Other Backward Castes: 27.12%
Most Backward Castes: 36.01%
Scheduled Castes: 19.65%
Scheduled Tribes: 1.68%
Upper Castes: 15.52%
Muslims have been included under OBCs and MBCs.
Analysts say that the results are so drastic (since they reveal that backward castes account for about 63% of Bihar's population) that the direction of Bihar's politics will change forever. They also say that other States will eventually take up a similar caste census, giving rise to the second edition of the Mandal politics.
The BJP might try to counter this by pointing out that the INDIA bloc parties would be hypocrites if they didn't choose a PM candidate from a backward caste. Rahul Gandhi is not a backward caste person.
As per some speculations, which are wide off the mark, the Congress party will prop up Mallikarjun Kharge as the PM candidate. However, Kharge has no mass base outside Karnataka. The INDI Alliance might as well choose Nitish Kumar, but his popularity has been dwindling within Bihar. He will stand no chance outside Bihar.
