Will Muslims get 4 percent reservation again? After all, under what pressure is Congress?

New Delhi : Along with the assembly elections held in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the results of 48 assembly and 2 Lok Sabha seats of 15 states have come. Congress has definitely been shocked by these election results. The party’s performance in Maharashtra has been absolutely disappointing. Along with this, the party has also failed to perform as expected in the by-elections held in various states. Only the elections for two Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka along with Kerala and Maharashtra brought good news for the Congress.

Lack of discipline, factionalism responsible

Congress’s strategy appeared to be a complete failure in the by-elections of many states including the Maharashtra Assembly. At the same time, the party also suffered losses due to polarization of votes. The party’s core vote bank also seemed divided this time between Dalits and Backward Classes. The party has formed committees to review the defeat. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has blamed lack of discipline in the party, old style politics as well as factionalism for the defeat. Along with this, there has been talk of fixing accountability for the defeat. In this way, the party seems to be under complete pressure after the defeat.

Pressure to implement Muslim reservation

The Muslim community in Karnataka is increasing pressure on the government to restore 4% reservation. he/she had benefited from this earlier. Especially when the voting pattern in last year’s assembly elections and this month’s by-elections for three assembly seats shows that the community remained united behind the Congress party. The previous BJP government had abolished the quota, but there is a case pending in the Supreme Court, which had stayed the decision.

This remains a controversial issue, especially since the Supreme Court in its observation of 2023 termed the move to abolish the quota as ‘prima facie untenable and flawed’. However, there is no clarity on whether and when the quota will be restored.

Was a big election issue in 2023 elections

Abolition of quota had become an important election issue for Congress in the 2023 assembly elections. After the election, Congress won the majority to form the government with absolute majority under the leadership of Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar.

When will Congress announce?

Congress party sources say the restoration of the 4% quota has been more or less finalized, but the government is waiting for the ‘right time’ to make an official announcement. The Lok Sabha and by-elections delayed action on the issue because the government feared it would alienate the Lingayat and Vokkaliga votes. Both these communities got additional 2% quota after the BJP government’s decision of 2023.

Former PM Deve Gowda had started

In 1995, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, who was leading the Janata Dal government in Karnataka, had introduced a separate 4% reservation for Muslims. They had accommodated Buddhists and SC-convert Christians in Categories 1 and 2A of the reservation matrix. This framework remained intact till March 27, 2023. After this, the BJP government led by Basavaraj Bommai abolished the Muslim quota. he/she increased the reservation of Lingayats and Vokkaligas by 2% each under the newly created 2C and 2D categories.