The OBCs are emerging as key to success in UP elections

The castes like Sahus, Kashyaps, Sainis, Kushwahas, Mauryas, Shakyas, Pals, Dhangars, Gaderiyas, Kumhars, Nishads, and Mallas are much in demand.

The BJP in 2017 had also expanded its reach among Other Backward Castes (OBCs), by allying with Om Prakash Rajbhar’s Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and the Nishad Party in 2019. The SBSP, however, broke off ties after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections although Rajbhar was made Cabinet minister in the Yogi Government and his son and other supporters were given Chairmanship of state-run corporations.

The break-up with Rajbhar has hit the BJP and therefore it has been trying desperately to woo Nishads and other non-dominant OBCs. The presence of Sanjay Nishad in the meeting of the BJP leaders shows that the ruling BJP is ready to bend downwards to keep the OBC and MBC leaders in good humour even if it has to give a few ministerial seats to Nishad.

On the other hand, Samajwadi Party has launched its OBC sammelans (conventions) on August 9. The party has already held such sammelans in central UP and Bundelkhand areas and by next week it will hold meetings in eastern parts of the state, where the population of OBCs is the highest.