Amid BJP’s Ayodhya push, INDIA camp plays social justice card, from caste pitch to Karpoori celebrations

The Opposition INDIA alliance is looking to take on the ruling BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on the plank of social justice, especially in Bihar which has a long history of socialist politics.

The coming weeks would mark a resurgence of conflict between the BJP and the Opposition parties over “Kamandal” versus “Mandal” politics. This is set to see an escalation in the next 10 days, which will see three crucial developments—the opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22, the launch of the Congress’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra by Rahul Gandhi from Manipur on January 14, and the birth anniversary celebrations of socialist icon Karpoori Thakur in Bihar by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (U).

In the course of Rahul’s nearly two-month-long Yatra from Thoubal near Imphal to Mumbai, the Congress will mainly raise the issues related to “arthik nyay, samajik nyay and rajnitik nyay (economic, social and political justice)”.

The Congress has invited its INDIA bloc allies to join the Yatra in their strongholds, which would also rake up their demand for a nationwide caste census.

On October 2 last year, the Nitish-led Mahagathbandhan government, which includes Lalu Prasad-led RJD and the Congress among others, released the data of a caste survey in Bihar in which Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) were found to make up over 63% of the state’s population.These findings strengthened the demand of the INDIA parties for a caste count.

Facing the “Mandal pressure”, the BJP central leadership called a meeting of its Chief Ministers and senior OBC leaders in November to discuss the “advantages and disadvantages” of the party’s current position of not going for a caste count.

Meanwhile, the