Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly election in 2022, BJP ally Apna Dal (S) has demanded a caste-based census in India. The party is also pushing for a separate Union ministry dedicated to working for the welfare of the Other Backward Classes.
A PTI report quoted Ashish Patel, working president of Apna Dal (S) saying that caste-based census is the need of the hour to ascertain the exact population of each segment, especially the other backward classes (OBC).
Earlier, Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stated that he would ask the Centre to conduct a caste-based census as part of delayed Census-2021.
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Apna Dal (S) has been a BJP ally since 2014 and Anupriya Patel, daughter of the party's founder late Sonelal Patel, was made a Union minister when Prime Minister Narendra Modi expanded his Council of Ministers recently.
Anupriya Patel hails from the Kurmi caste which falls under the OBC category. The party, Apna Dal (S), wields influence in around 50 assembly constituencies, mostly in eastern Uttar Pradesh.