With the Bihar elections looming, the Mahagathbandhan, led by Rahul and Tejashwi, introduced the Atipichda Nyay Sankalp, a plan focused on the Extremely Backward Classes. The plan includes ten key promises. However, this strategy might become a hurdle during seat allocation. According to some sources, Mukesh Sahni, Pashupati Paras, and the Left parties are signaling to the Congress-RJD that Nitish Kumar has successfully courted this voter base. They argue that to effectively challenge Nitish and capture a significant share of the 36% EBC vote, the allocation of seats and the selection of candidates must reflect the community’s proportional representation.
Furthermore, concerns are rising within the Congress and RJD. They believe Nitish Kumar has already consolidated his support within this crucial vote bank. While the Mahagathbandhan has announced its plans, concrete action is needed. The coalition needs to demonstrate genuine commitment to the EBC by carefully choosing candidates and allocating seats. The EBC strategy put forth by the Congress-RJD may cause problems before seat distribution has been finalized.
What are the main points of the Atipichda Nyay Sankalp?
The Atipichda Nyay Sankalp presented by Rahul and Tejashwi outlines ten key commitments. These include sending a bill to incorporate the 50% reservation limit into the 9th schedule to increase reservation. There’s a proposed increase in reservation from 20% to 30% in Panchayat-city bodies. Reservation will also be mandated in all private colleges and universities.
The current “Not Found Suitable” system will be removed from appointments. A committee will work on ensuring adequate representation in the Extremely Backward Classes list. Land will be provided to landless SC/ST/OBC/EBC residents – 3 decimals in cities and 5 decimals in villages. Half of the reserved seats in private schools will be reserved for children from the SC/ST/OBC/EBC groups. Furthermore, 50% reservation will be implemented for SC/ST/OBC/EBC in government contracts up to Rs 25 crore. A law will be implemented to prevent violence against the Extremely Backward Classes. An authority will be created to monitor reservations, and only the assembly will have the power to change the list.