With Sadhvi’s appointment, BJP plans to blend Hindutva & non-Yadavs outreach

Lucknow: The appointment of former Fatehpur MP Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti as chairperson of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) has swung the arclights back on BJP's assertive bid of blending soft Hindutva with non-Yadav OBC outreach to shore up political points in the run-up to the UP elections.Sadhvi, who comes from Nishad community, has taken over from Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, a four-time MP from Chandrapur Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra. BJP sources said that the party sought to ratchet up its outreach at the politically dominant Nishad community, which accounts for around 7% of the UP population. Analysts said the BJP wants to consolidate the non-Yadav OBC electoral bloc, a segment which is said to have been feeling under-represented in parties like Samajwadi Party, dominated by the Yadavs.The NCBC holds a symbolic importance as a constitutional body safeguarding OBC interests, but by placing a politically aligned figure at its helm, the BJP aims to send a message of institutional responsiveness to backward classes, analysts said.The Sadhvi, who prefers wearing saffron robes, began her political journey during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and was an active member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. She was also anointed as Mahamandaleshwar of the Niranjani Akhada in 2019.BJP sources said that Jyoti was also in contention for the role of UP BJP chief until the party's central leadership decided to opt for union minister and Maharajganj MP Pankaj Chaudhary, a Kurmi.Her appointment now as the NCBC chairperson fits BJP's ideological plank of mixing Hindutva with OBC politics. The move is also seen as BJP's fresh counter to the opposition's Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak plank, which dented the party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, in UP. At the same time, the party planned to appeal to rural and semi-urban voters where caste identity and welfare measures intersect.BJP sources said her appointment to NCBC is party's bid to revive Jyoti, a senior leader who served as a Union minister in the Modi cabinet, but was feeling sidelined after losing electoral prominence. She lost her Fatehpur LS seat to SP's Naresh Uttam Patel, a Kurmi, by 30,000 votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.