After Karnataka Setback, BJP's Caste Quota Focus Ahead Of 3 State Polls
NDTV
The BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both in 2014 and 2019, had won a maximum of the SC/ST seats
The setback that BJP faced in the recent Karnataka assembly polls particularly in the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SC/STs) reserved seats, despite the state government announcing that it will increase quota for both the communities, will be on top of the party leadership's review of the election results, senior leaders of the party said.
The BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both in 2014 and 2019, had won a maximum of the SC/ST seats - 77 of 131 such constituencies in 2019 as compared to 67 in 2014. Both the social groups are an important part of the BJP's central focus on 'labharthi' (central welfare) schemes.
Party leaders said the SC/ST outreach of the party will also be intensified as the poll-bound states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have a significant number of voters from these two groups.
In Karnataka, while the BJP managed to win only eight of the 36 seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes in the State, it failed to win a single seat among the seats that are reserved for the tribal communities. Meanwhile, the Congress won 21 Scheduled Castes seats and 14 Scheduled Tribes seats, up from 12 SC seats and 8 ST seats in 2018, while the JD(S) won four reserved seats. The BJP's biggest leaders from the SC/ST communities, such as Sriramulu and Govind Karjol, also lost their seats.
