The Maharashtra government led by the troika of the BJP, Shiv Sena and the NCP on Thursday approved two key decisions in what is seen as the Mahayuti’s bid to reverse its losses in the Lok Sabha elections.
At a meeting in Mumbai last evening, the Maharashtra Cabinet recommended to the Centre that the annual income limit to qualify as ‘non-creamy layer’ be increased from the existing Rs 8 lakh to Rs 15 lakh.
A non-creamy layer certificate, stating that the family income of a person is below the prescribed limit, is needed to be eligible for reservation benefits in the OBC category.
The second key decision by the Cabinet was to clear a draft ordinance according constitutional status to the Maharashtra State Scheduled Caste Commission. As per a government statement, the ordinance will be tabled in the next session of the legislature and 27 posts had been approved for the commission.
Coming just ahead of Assembly polls in the state, the decisions are being viewed as the Mahayuti’s outreach to the Scheduled Caste and Other Backward Classes groups.
In the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and the NCP(SP) stunned the Mahayuti, winning 30 of Maharashtra's 48 Lok Sabha seats while the NDA’s tally stood at 18.
A major factor behind the INDIA bloc’s performance was getting the caste combinations right and its success in getting across the narrative that the BJP would end reservations if it won 400 seats in the Lower House.
The decisions by the Maharashtra Cabinet are being seen as an attempt to blunt this line attack of the Congress. Notably, the BJP-led Haryana government adopted a similar measure just ahead of polls that saw the creamy layer ceiling being increased from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh.
In the elections that followed, the BJP defied all exit poll predictions to win 48 of the 90 seats and is set to form its government in the state for a record third term.
The BJP’s situation in Maharashtra is similar to what it was in Haryana just ahead of polls with multiple challenges like the farmers’ angst and the ‘Constitution-in-danger’ agenda, among others.
The BJP’s caste calculus is seen as a major force behind BJP’s victory in the state as a majority of non-Jat OBCs, upper castes and Dalits reposed their faith in the party.
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