Union home minister Amit Shah endeavoured to court the Other Backward Castes (OBC) and the Extremely Backward Castes (EBC) during a rally in this district on Saturday, aiming to counter the Opposition Mahagathbandhan in Bihar.

He emphasised that “only Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could ensure their welfare”.

Shah also issued a stern warning that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in Bihar would establish a committee to take stringent action against land mafia in the state — a threat perceived to be directed at Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, his family and supporters.

Speaking at a mass gathering of the OBC and EBC organised by the BJP in Paliganj, Shah chose to assail Lalu and the Congress for neglecting the downtrodden and engaging in dynastic politics.

This event coincided with a raid by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on RJD leader Subhash Yadav, known to be close to Lalu and his family. Subhash faces several cases of illegal sand mining.

The home minister invoked the recent Bharat Ratna awarded to former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur, from the barber caste within the EBC community, to make a point.

“The Congress and Lalu Prasad had been in power for so many years, but did not honour Jan Nayak (people’s leader) Karpoori Thakur. The BJP, which is committed to the welfare of backward classes, bestowed upon him Bharat Ratna. The Congress honoured the family, while Lalu worked for his family in the name of backward classes,” Shah said.

Continuing in the same vein, Shah said: “The sole ambition of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi is to make her son Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister, and Rahul’s aim is to make Lalu’s son the chief minister of Bihar. Can such people truly benefit you?”

Shah asserted that Lalu was aligned with the Congress, which consistently insulted the OBC and the EBC by disregarding the Kaka Kalelkar Commission and Mandal Commission reports, while former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi opposed OBC reservation in Parliament.

“But the BJP supported OBC reservation. Prime Minister Modi established a venture capital fund for OBC entrepreneurs and has undertaken various welfare initiatives for backward classes, including granting constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes,” Shah said.

According to the caste-based survey conducted by the Bihar government last year, the EBC with 36.02 per cent and OBC with 27.13 per cent of the state’s 13.07 crore population constituted the top two segments of voters.

No political party can afford to overlook this 63 per cent section of society in the elections, leading to a concerted effort to court them.

Lalu relies heavily on the Yadav caste, constituting 14.26 per cent of the state’s population, and Muslims, who make up 17.7 per cent, both groups staunchly supporting him. This poses a significant threat to the BJP’s electoral ambitions, prompting efforts to attract the OBC and
EBC communities.

The home minister pointed out that Lalu’s only endeavour was to seize land belonging to the OBC, EBC and the poor.

“I am here to caution Lalu Prasad’s party that Bihar has once again secured the ‘double engine government’ (government of the same alliance at the Centre and in the state), and the BJP government will crack down on the land mafia,” Shah said.

“We will form a committee. It will take stringent action against those who have usurped the land of the poor and incarcerate them. Laluji, no matter what you do, you will not be able to mislead the backward and extremely backward people of this state,” Shah said.

Enumerating various public welfare measures initiated by Modi, Shah highlighted that the Prime Minister sought votes to strengthen the country and its economy, while “these people (the RJD and the Congress) are seeking your votes for the welfare of their families”.

Shah also aimed for 40 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar to secure more than 400 seats across the country in the upcoming elections.

Recalling that Lalu had thwarted BJP leader L.K. Advani’s rath yatra in Bihar and got him arrested in 1990, Shah asked the crowd whether the Ram Temple at Ayodhya should have been built or not.

“Laluji, you cannot do anything because the people of Bihar are with us,” said Shah.