QUOTA QUANDARY

The Mohan Yadav regime stands unreservedly for OBC quotas, but it creates political unease among the BJP's traditional base

- By Rahul Noronha

DO CASTE-BASED QUOTAS FINISH MERIT OR CREATE FUTURE MERIT? Depends on who you ask, but no one will deny that the juncture at which a fresh quota comes into play tends to be a conflictual one for society—and politics. Madhya Pradesh is at one such point, if the Mohan Yadav government has its way in a case being heard in the Supreme Court. In fact, not unexpectedly, parties across the spectrum back the hiking of job and educational quotas for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from 14 to 27 per cent. Again, not unexpectedly, only some student bodies are protesting.

But therein lies the dilemma for the ruling BJP. Its stand has massive political ramifications, with the affidavits filed by the state in the SC furnishing arguments supporting the hike causing heartburn among the forward castes—the BJP’s traditional base. Socially, too, signs of animus are visible in the Gwalior-Chambal region, where caste identities are most acute. An extra delicacy attaches in Yadav’s case because he himself illustrates the pro-OBC push in leadership roles made by major parties in the state. Though, in all fairness, he may have had little wiggle room on the issue.