BJP may field son of THIS icon of Bihar for vice presidential election, to woo OBC in assembly election

After BJP President JP Nadda had met JD(U) member in Rajya Sabha, Ram Nath Thakur, speculation began doing the rounds that he might be fielded for the Vice Presidential election by the ruling NDA. A humble politician with a low profile, Thakur is the Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare. He is also a member of the National Executive Committee of the JD(U). But why should Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the BJP put the bet on a lesser-known politician from Bihar, with no massive support on the ground?

(Ram Nath Thakur, MP, JDU)

Who is Ram Nath Thakur?

Ram Nath Thakur is the son of Karpoori Thakur, the iconic leader of Bihar who was one of the doyens of the socialist movement in the state. He became the chief minister of Bihar twice and took certain pro-poor decisions, for which he is still remembered in the state with awe. When the highest civilian award of Bharat Ratna was bestowed upon Karpoori Thakur posthumously, it was called the master stroke of PM Modi to woo the Bihari voters, particularly the OBCs, in the forthcoming Bihar Assembly Elections 2026. Moving one step ahead, the prime minister included him in his ministry on August 11, 2024. 

Who was Karpoori Thakur?

As he got political baptism in the Socialist Party and grew up under the guidance of socialist leaders like Swami Sahajanand, Acharya Narendra Dev, and Jai Prakash Narayan, he implemented some of the policies that benefited the downtrodden and marginalised people in the caste-ridden society of Bihar. After becoming the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar in 1967, Karpoori Thakur made education up to Class X free and removed the mandatory provision of passing English in matriculation. He exempted the land rent up to the landholding of seven acres. After becoming the Chief Minister of the state in 1970, he initiated the land reforms, waived the revenue of small farmers, and abolished the surcharge on land. He brought transparency to government jobs and overhauled the recruitment process. 

2022 Bihar Caste Survey

According to the 2022 Bihar Caste Survey, the Other Backward Classes (OBC) constitute 63.14% of the population of the state. The OBCs are a deciding voting factor in more than 160 seats in the 243-member Bihar Assembly. The BJP wants to woo this section of the voters by elevating Karpoori Thakur's son to the second-highest office in the country. By making the son of the OBC icon the vice president, the ruling coalition also wants to take the air out of the pall of the opposition, the RJD.

However, Ram Nath Thakur is from the JDU, and he has a socialist background too. This goes against him, as the BJP has a bitter experience with an outsider and a socialist politician, Jagdeep Dhankhar. The saffron party may decide to pick its own man, who can be trusted.