Apna Dal (S) may raise caste census pitch at Ayodhya rally

Amid Opposition's push for caste-based census, the ruling BJP's key ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) president and Union minister Anupriya Patel is set to step up the demand for a caste survey at its foundation programme in Ayodhya next month.

The party has been demanding a caste-based census since its formation, Patel recently said at a programme in Uttar Pradesh, citing her father and party's founder Sonelal Patel's desire to have a division of resources on the basis of percentage of population.

Patel, Kurmi by caste and an OBC herself, has been demanding that the income cap for the OBC creamy layer should be increased to ₹15 lakh per year. It was increased to ₹8 lakh from ₹6 lakh during the Modi government.


The party is working to organise a mega rally on November 4, to mark its 29th foundation day where it will talk about all its ideological issues, especially those that matter to backwards and Dalits as they constitute the core of the party, sources in Apna Dal (S) said.

The party will also raise the pitch and step up its demand for caste-based census at the rally as it has always been a votary of division of resources on the basis of population, they added. Apna Dal (Sonelal) - a party with a base among Kurmis in eastern UP - mainly draws its support from this community and other sections of OBCs.

Apna Dal (S) is raising the pitch for caste-based census at a time when Congress has openly come out in its support to make inroads in OBC politics in the Hindi heartland.