Tejashwi Yadav, Rahul Gandhi pitch to EBC, SC voters in Bihar

Patna: As the NDA government rolls out announcements targeting women and other sections of society in poll-bound Bihar, the opposition INDIA bloc is sharpening its focus on Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) and Scheduled Castes (SCs) to cross the majority mark in the upcoming elections.

EBCs account for about 36% of Bihar's electorate, and SCs another 20% - together forming more than half the voter base. On September 24, the INDIA bloc unveiled Ati Pichda Niyan Sankalp, a special manifesto for EBCs, with promises to expand reservations across categories.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, during his recent Bihar visits, also targeted this segment, vowing to push past the 50% reservation ceiling laid down by the Supreme Court.


RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has intensified outreach, addressing two Samvad meetings with SC and EBC communities in as many days. On Friday, he met social activists from both groups and highlighted the opposition's special agenda. On Saturday, while addressing the Karpoori Ati Pichda Samvad in Patna, he alleged that EBCs have suffered "misgovernance and neglect" under Nitish Kumar's BJP-backed government for two decades.

"Extremely Backward will no longer be a vote bank but a power bank. Extremely Backward will no longer only form governments - they will form their own government," Yadav said.