Bihar's Bankipur loss prompts BJP to woo upper castes

A loss in the Bankipur assembly constituency has changed the BJP's approach to electoral politics in Bihar. The election came in the aftermath of the UGC issue, paper leak, Bharat Tiwari encounter and Gen Z protest. The BJP in the state feels its core upper-caste voter is unhappy with the party and sided with Jan Suraaj leader Prashant Kishore. The party is now back to wooing its core upper-caste voter.

Last week, the Savarna Ayog in Bihar appointed district nodal officers to help people register their grievances at the district level rather than travelling to Patna. The government was facing questions over the encounter of Bharat Tiwari in central Bihar by the police. On Thursday, CM Samrat Choudhary announced a government job for one of Tiwari's family members and promised financial assistance.

"Based on the interim report of the judicial inquiry, the Bihar government will provide financial assistance to the family of the late Bharat Tiwari and offer a government job to one family member," Choudhary posted on X.


The government is also mulling the recommendations of the Savarna Ayog, which include extending free coaching facilities for competitive examinations to EWS category students and enrolling EWS and upper-caste students in residential schools to be run by the government.

The focus is more on the upcoming generation. In his Independence Day speech, Choudhary promised to start a special portal where students can register their complaints regarding school infrastructure, examinations and other requirements. The government will address the complaints within a month. The portal will start working from Monday.