Vote-bank politics: BJP seeks 'caste' details of new members to crack Bihar polls

NEW DELHI: Caste headcount may not be a part of the census data or voters’ list of the Election Commission but BJP, which recently completed a mammoth membership drive that made it the largest party in the world, has now begun a Mahasampark programme where it will ask these new members to share personal details, including their caste, and if they belong to the minority community.

Data about the numerical strength of each caste in a particular constituency can help the party decide which candidate should be fielded in states like Bihar where the electorate is known for voting on caste lines. Assembly polls are due in Bihar in October and party sources said the state is one of the priority areas in the ongoing exercise to seek those who want to become primary members of the party.

BJP has claimed that its membership drive has been highly successful with around 11 crore members. Bihar-Jharkhand region alone has 93.11 lakh new BJP members. The primary membership form — a copy of which is with ET — has columns for various personal details like member number (that was allotted once a person gave a missed call to the toll-free number), name, gender, mobile number, date of birth, Jan Dhan account number, Voter I-Card number, Aadhar number, social category- General, OBC, SC, ST, minority, caste and so on.

A BJP office-bearer associated with the membership drive said workers will be engaged in the drive to get these forms filled. “The area has been zeroed in on the basis of the telecom circle from which the missed call to the toll-free number was made. Our party workers will visit the new member with a letter from BJP chief Amit Shah, a party brochure and literature on the achievements of the Modi government in the last one year.”

Sociologist Shiv Vishwanathan feels collecting caste details may not be wrong but the motive behind it is the real issue. Professor Zoya Hasan emphasised that political parties should be “caste and religion blind”.