Gurugram: Caste dynamics and social engineering appear to have long-played a crucial role in Indian elections, shaping the strategies of political parties across the country.
In Haryana, where the population is deeply divided along caste lines, political parties have historically custom-made their candidate selection and campaign strategies to reflect on these social realities.
Ahead of the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections, scheduled for 5 October, both major political parties—the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress—have leveraged comprehensive social engineering to select their candidates, and assessed caste equations for each seat to strategically field candidates.
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How BJP, Congress fielded candidates
In 38 of the 90 assembly seats, candidates from the same caste are contesting against each other in the upcoming polls—Jats against Jats, OBCs (Other Backward Classes) against OBCs, and Brahmins against Brahmins, among others.
In 36 seats, the BJP and Congress have fielded candidates of different castes against each other—a non-Jat against a Jat or a non-OBC against an OBC, for instance.
Congress has largely bet on Jats, fielding 28 candidates from the community, while the BJP, which usually focuses on non-Jat politics in Haryana, has given tickets to 16 Jat candidates.
The BJP has placed a huge bet on OBC candidates, giving 22 tickets to people from this community—the highest among all castes. Meanwhile, Congress has fielded OBC candidates from 20 seats.
The BJP supposedly played a major OBC card on 12 March by replacing Manohar Lal Khattar, a non-Jat who had been chief minister for nine-and-a-half years, with Nayab Saini, an OBC. The BJP is contesting the upcoming elections under Saini’s leadership, projecting him as the future chief minister if the party wins the polls.
As many as 17 assembly seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates. Neither Congress nor the BJP has given a ticket to a Dalit candidate on a general seat.
If one looks at Haryana’s caste composition, it can be observed that three castes have traditionally played a crucial role in forming the government. These are the OBCs, who account for an estimated 35 percent of the state’s population, followed by Jats at 20 to 22 percent, and Dalits at 20.17 percent.
In two seats, the BJP and Congress have fielded Muslim candidates against each other.
In each of three other seats, the contest is between Hindu and Muslim candidates. Congress has fielded Muslim candidates from these seats, while the BJP has fielded Hindu candidates against them.
By focusing on key caste groups such as Jats, OBCs and Dalits, both the BJP and Congress seemingly seek to consolidate vote banks and maximise their electoral appeal.
This careful assessment of caste arithmetic is particularly evident in this year’s election campaign, where both parties appear to have employed targeted approaches to field candidates based on intricate caste calculations.
What experts say
Jyoti Mishra, a researcher at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in New Delhi, told The Print that both the BJP and Congress are leveraging caste dynamics for the Haryana Assembly polls, through targeted ticket distribution.
“The BJP has strategically allocated one-fourth of its tickets (22 seats) to OBC candidates, with the last-minute induction of Nayab Singh Saini, an OBC leader, as a chief ministerial candidate, signalling their intent to secure a larger share of votes from this segment. Meanwhile, one-third of Congress’s candidates are Jats, reflecting their bid to consolidate this traditional voter base,” Mishra explained.
Quoting data from Lokniti-CSDS, which conducts studies during general elections, the researcher said that the Congress improved its vote share among Jats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, whereas the BJP retained its dominance among upper castes and OBCs.
This shift reflects broader tactical efforts to regain support from communities disillusioned by recent governance issues, she said. “Congress’s strategy appears aimed at reclaiming Jat support, despite the community’s weakened state presence. The ongoing interplay of caste politics will be key in shaping the electoral outcome, with both parties carefully navigating alliances and voter expectations ahead of the assembly polls,” Mishra explained.
Seats with Congress, BJP candidates from same caste
A look at the candidates of both parties shows that in 14 seats, a Jat candidate from the Congress is facing a Jat from the BJP.
A significant example is that of the Garhi Sampla-Kiloi assembly seat in Rohtak district, where former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress is contesting against former zila parishad chairperson Manju Hooda of the BJP.
Manju Hooda, daughter of late Pradeep Yadav, a police officer, is married to Rajesh Hooda, a gangster.
Similarly, former Haryana finance minister Captain Abhimanyu is contesting against Jasvir Singh (Jassi Petwar) in Narnaul, state finance minister J.P. Dalal is facing Rajbir Fartiya in Loharu, and former minister Kiran Choudhry’s daughter Shruti Choudhry of the BJP is contesting against her cousin Anirudh Choudhary of the Congress in Tosham.
Similarly, in 14 seats, OBCs are facing OBCs.
Prominent examples include Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh’s daughter Arti Rao facing Anita Yadav in Ateli, Congress leader Captain Ajay Singh Yadav’s son Chiranjeev Rao facing Lakshman Singh of the BJP in Rewari, and former minister Rao Narbir Singh of the BJP facing Vardhan Singh of the Congress in Gurugram’s Badshahpur.
Thanesar, Hansi, Rohtak and Panipat City are the four seats where both Congress and BJP have fielded Punjabi candidates; Ballabgarh and Ganaur will see Brahmins from both parties contesting; and Firozepur Jhirka and Punhana are the two seats where the BJP as well Congress have fielded Meo Muslim (ethnic group from northwestern India) candidates.
Meanwhile, Jagadhari, Hathin and Nuh are the three seats where the BJP has fielded non-Muslims against Muslim candidates fielded by the Congress.
Results to assembly elections in Haryana will be declared on 8 October.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
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