Electoral Politics and Reservations

The world of manual scavenging is informed by caste, patriarchy, filth and humiliation. Their only source of "power" comes from politicians considering them a vote bank; yet, without truly understanding their lives, aspirations, and living conditions, how can governments promise them policies that could empower and change their lives?

Taking the discussion in EPW on caste in West Bengal further, a comment on the mobilisation and autonomy of the lower-caste movement post-Partition, the reduced scope for the lower castes to develop a hegemonic politics or strategy, and the importance of a bahujan samaj in this context.

Any attempt at understanding the presence or absence of caste in West Bengal today calls for a contextualisation of the problem by studying the history of caste politics in pre-Independence united Bengal. A response to Praskanva Sinharay ("A New Politics of Caste", EPW, 25 August 2012) and Uday Chandra and Kenneth Bo Nielsen ("The Importance of Caste in Bengal", EPW, 3 November 2012).

A profi ling of the caste backgrounds of candidates fi elded by the four main political parties in Uttar Pradesh in the assembly elections, the elected legislators and ministers reveals some interesting trends. There is a stable presence of upper caste candidates from all major parties, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress continuing to fi eld them predominantly, while the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have become more of "catch-all" parties, similar yet very different from the Congress Party of the past. The study of ministers and MLAs reveals a more complex picture of upper caste strength in representation.

Reddy-Kamma rivalry has defined politics in Andhra Pradesh in both the Congress Party and the Telugu Desam Party. The two communities used a pliant Telangana vote bank in their battles, but this option is now no longer available to them. Should that come in the way of the formation of a state of Telangana?