3 weeks ago

Will Upper-Caste Discontent After Bihar Loss Hurt BJP in UP?

Will Upper-Caste Discontent After Bihar Loss Hurt BJP in UP?
After Bihar setback, will upper-caste discontent hurt BJP in Uttar Pradesh? · indianexpress.com

The BJP is a big political party in India.

For many years, one of its biggest groups of supporters has been people called upper castes.

Lately, these supporters are angry with the party.

It started when the government made new rules for colleges and universities.

The government said these rules would stop unfair treatment of students based on caste.

But many upper-caste students said the rules were unfair and could cause fights between groups.

The Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the country, stopped the new rules for now.

The party recently lost an election in a state called Bihar, and leaders think the angry upper-caste voters helped cause that loss.

Now the party is worried it might lose votes in another big state, Uttar Pradesh.

The party's top leaders are holding meetings to try to calm people down.

Key facts

UGC regulations notified
January this year
Supreme Court action
Stayed the regulations, warning of 'very sweeping consequences' and risk of dividing society
Rajput Karni Sena rally
August 3, Jaipur; police used force to stop the march to the BJP office
Bankipur bypoll
BJP defeat; upper-caste anger over UGC rules identified as a key factor
BJP 2024 Lok Sabha tally
Fell to 33 seats from 62 in 2019
BJP president
Nitin Nabin, who urged members not to panic over the UGC issue
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
Resigned after student protests over exam paper leaks
Next UP assembly elections
2027

Quotes

BJP leader

Member of the BJP

“It began with the Ambedkarites. Then the Left entered the protest. But it was the large participation and sympathy from the upper castes that made the movement difficult to handle.”
indianexpress.com

Sources

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