4 hours ago
Last Updated:May 05, 2025, 14:49 IST
What is worrying some leaders is that the endeavour of the Congress to court youth could be compromised apart from losing out on upper caste votes further
Not everyone in the Congress is impressed with the push for caste census. (PTI)
The absences tell the real story of discomfort in the Congress over the caste census. At the CWC meeting called just a day after the government gave its nod to the caste census, a couple of empty chairs did not go unnoticed. Those missing in attendance were Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, Anand Sharma, and Ramesh Chennithala to name a few.
At the CWC, the members lauded Rahul Gandhi and his campaign which “forced" the government to pay heed to him. The party has big plans for the follow-up. It will insist that a timeline be set and also the Telangana model be followed. However, the few absentees and some of the leaders, mostly from North, are wary of this stress on caste census.
A senior leader told News18: “We belong to the Rajiv Gandhi slogan days—‘Na Jaat Ki Na Paat Ki, Mohar Lagegi Haath Pe’ [Neither caste nor creed, we will pick the hand (Congress symbol)]. The Congress wanted to stay away from caste politics. So, we can’t adjust to the new Congress slogan."
In fact, some who mentioned that the Congress Ahmedabad resolution—which spoke strongly in favour of caste census—was against the basic and conventional grain of the party, were pulled up. Sources say both Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge questioned why these issues were not raised at the AICC session.
What is worrying some of these leaders is that the endeavour of the Congress to look progressively for the youth could be compromised. More than that, it would lose out on the upper caste votes further, which have been anyway slipping away from the Grand Old Party. In many state elections, the Congress has moaned the loss of, say, Brahmin votes; this would be further pushed away. Also, Congress leaders belonging to the upper castes—like Brahmins in UP, Punjab or even down South—would find this obsession with caste census difficult to explain to their vote bank. Recent statistics show that about 79 per cent of upper caste votes remain mostly with the BJP, while only about 16 per cent are with the Opposition. The figure is even lower for the Congress.
The leaders summed it up for News18: “Since no one was willing to listen, it was best to stay away."
Location : First Published:News politics 'We Belong To Rajiv Gandhi Era': Rahul's Push For Caste Census Exposes Congress' Dilemma
