With certain castes and sub-castes likely to leave an imprint on UP politics, it was definitely not out of the blue when Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav recently cleared the file carrying the names of 17 Other Backward Castes for inclusion in the scheduled castes list.
While Akhilesh sought to score a brownie point by this move, BSP chief Mayawati sought to checkmate him by trashing the decision as nothing but an 'election stunt', though it was her government that had sent the recommendation to the Centre earlier.
The 17 sub-castes which the government wants included in the scheduled castes category are: Kahar, Kashyap, Kewat, Nishad, Bind, Bhar, Prajapati, Rajbhar, Batham, Gauriya, Turha, Majhi, Mallah, Kumhar, Dheemar, Dheewar and Machhua.
Though individually each has a very small vote share, together, they make up a significant chunk of votes.
The OBCs are roughly 44 per cent of UP's electorate, the Dalits 21 per cent, the Muslims 19 per cent, and the upper castes 16 per cent.
