BJP's Upper Caste vote bank delivers as 82% Brahmins, 89% Rajputs voted for the party
Correspondent
NewsBits.in
NEW DELHI: It is well-known that people vote for the parties or candidates on the basis of their caste affiliation, rather than issues, in India.
Most political parties have their own vote banks but it seems that the 'Upper Caste vote bank' is the strongest and it played the key role as BJP won 62 seats in Uttar Pradesh in the recent Lok Sabha election.
Such has been the loyalty of Upper Castes towards the BJP that 82% Brahmins and 89% Rajputs (Thakurs) voted for the BJP. Among Other Upper Castes (OUCs), 84% voted for BJP. No other party has got such a huge chunk of votes from any section.
Clearly, BJP's Upper Caste vote bank is the strongest and most formidable. Despite SP-BSP contesting the election jointly, they barely got 75% votes of Jatav community and 73% Muslims. While SP is considered a party of Yadavas, it got just 60% Yadav votes.
Jats also voted overwhelmingly for the BJP and the figure was 91%. Only Banias' vote share was a little less (70%) for the BJP and the reason could be demonetization that had affected the trading community in a big way. Clearly, BJP got a huge chunk of Upper Caste vote.
With such a dedicated vote bank, it had to just carry the momentum. The OBCs, almost half of the Scheduled Castes and large section of Yadavas too voted for BJP, which resulted in the party once again. The figures are from Lokniti-CSDS survey, reported by The Hindu.
Vote banks for BJP, Congress and MGB (SP-BSP) in Uttar Pradesh
BJP: Brahmin (82%), Rajput (89%), Vaishya (70%), Jat (91%), OUC (84%), Yadav (23%), Kurmi-Koeri (80%), Other OBC (72%), Jatav (17%), Other SC (48%), Muslims (8%), Others (50%)
MGB [SP-BSP-RLD]: Brahmin (6%), Rajput (7%), Vaishya (4%), Jat (7%), OUC (10%), Yadav (60%), Kurmi-Koeri (14%), Other OBC (18%), Jatav (75%), Other SC (42%), Muslims (73%), Others (35%)
Congress: Brahmin (6%), Rajput (5%), Vaishya (13%), Jat (2%), OUC (5%), Yadav (5%), Kurmi-Koeri (5%), Other OBC (5%), Jatav (1%), Other SC (7%), Muslims (14%), Others (1%)
