In BJP's first candidate list, 27 from SC, 18 from ST and 57 from OBC given Lok Sabha tickets

Of the 195 candidates announced in the first list for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has fielded 28 women candidates, 27 from the Scheduled Caste community, 18 from Scheduled Tribes, 57 from the OBC community, and 47 leaders under the age of 50.

The first list seemingly gives weightage to the OBC community, which has been the main vote bank of the BJP.

This comes as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been repeatedly raking up the caste census issue as he accuses the Modi government of not doing enough for the the backward castes.

Speaking in Morena after his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', Gandhi claimed that 73 percent of people including the Other Backward Classes which account for 50 per cent of the population, Dalits who are 15 per cent and the eight percent tribals do not have any representation in the government and various other sectors, and a caste-based census will ensure justice to them.

None of the people from these communities are found among the owners of big companies, their senior managements, media firms, influential journalists and social media influencers, Gandhi said.

Of the 90 top Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers "who run the government", only three each are from OBC and Dalit communities, and "they are made to sit in the corner when the budget is decided," he claimed.

Names from these communities are, however, found in the lists of MNREGA workforce, labourers and sanitary workers, the Congress leader said.

The Congress called the ongoing march `Nyay" (justice) because of the prevailing situation marked by social injustice and economic injustice, Gandhi said.

Caste census is a revolutionary step and will ensure justice and equal participation for these communities in various sectors, the Congress leader said.

It will provide answers to two questions, namely, what is the population of the OBCs, Dalits, and tribals, and how wealth is distributed among them and what is their share in various institutions, Gandhi said.

Also read | BJP releases first list of 195 candidates: Modi from Varanasi, Amit Shah from Gandhinagar