The Ajit Pawar faction supports a caste-based census

“Our party believes in the right to live as a human being, regardless of caste, creed and religion. It believes in equality and unity,” the party manifesto said.

“The NCP has faith in the quote of social reformer Sane Guruji: “The true religion is offering love to the world.” We need to bring the deprived and backward sections of society into the mainstream. Once the party comes to power, it will demand a caste-based census,” the manifesto said.

Ajit Pawar, who brought about a vertical split in the NCP after revolting against his uncle and party chief Sharad Pawar, said he has “not abandoned his ideologies”.

“I would like to reiterate that though I am part of Mahayuti (alliance of BJP, Sena and NCP), I have not abandoned my ideologies. We are committed to it and are working accordingly,” the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister said.

The NCP’s support for caste enumeration, despite being part of the NDA, comes against the backdrop of the Congress’s strong demand for such a survey in its manifesto. The Congress has promised to conduct a nationwide socio-economic and caste census to enumerate the castes and sub-castes and their socio-economic conditions.

The BJP, which once strongly opposed it, has of late softened its stand on the caste census issue. Last year, on the very day the Bihar government released the findings of its caste census in October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the opposition of dividing the country along caste lines. However, later Home Minister Amit Shah said the BJP was not opposed to the idea of ​​caste census.

The NCP manifesto also says that the party will demand Bharat Ratna as former Union Home Minister and former Maharashtra Chief Minister late Yashwantrao Chavan. The manifesto also says that NCP will push for a classical language label for Marathi.

While releasing the party manifesto, Ajit Pawar lauded Prime Minister Modi’s contribution to the country in the last decade. “Modi’s leadership will ensure our victory in the elections. There is no one from the opposition who can compete with him. He is the face of the NDA,” he said.