Padyatra politics: After Prashant Kishor, Tejashwi Yadav mulls Patna to Delhi 'foot march' to press for caste-based census

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said, "We have a long-standing demand to conduct a caste-based census in Bihar."

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Patna: After election strategist Prashant Kishor's recent announcement that he would be launching a 3,000 km `padyatra' (march) from Gandhi Ashram at Champaran on the Mahatma's birthday, October 2, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has said that he may opt for a "padyatra" (foot march) from Patna to Delhi to press for the demand for a caste-based census in Bihar and in the country.

"We have a long-standing demand to conduct a caste based census in Bihar. On the efforts of RJD and its leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, a motion for conducting a caste-based census was passed twice in the Bihar Legislative Assembly and Bihar Legislative Council. Following our initiative, leaders of all parties of Bihar also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Now, I am not seeing any option other than coming on the road and for a padyatra from Patna to Delhi to conduct a caste-based census," Tejashwi Yadav told IANS.

Through his padyatra, Tejashwi Yadav would reportedly seek to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, but pit is assumed that he is actually looking at Prashant Kishor as a possible political threat in Bihar in the next Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections.

Kishor has already announced that he would start a 3,000 km "Padyatra" from Gandhi Ashram in West Champaran on October 2, through all the districts of Bihar to connect with people.

Earlier on May 5, PK, as he is popularly known, brushed aside speculation that he would announce the setting up of a new party. Kishor rather held out the possibility of Jan Suraaj metamorphosing into a political party at a later stage.

Prashant Kishor came out with an outline of his project, titled "Jan Suraaj", drawing inspiration from Gandhi's aphorism of "the best politics is right action", days after he had announced his decision to go back "to the Real Masters" the people".

He also stated that he planned to cover a distance of 3,000 kilometres in about a year, besides travelling to every nook and corner of the state to meet as many people as possible.

Demand for Caste-based census in Bihar

Last year, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had led an all-party delegation from the state to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for the caste-based census in the state. He led a 10-party delegation — including his JD(U), its allies BJP, HAM-S, VIP, as well as the Congress, CPI (ML) and AIMIM — as the Bihar Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution backing a caste census. 

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who was also part of the delegation, had then opined that such a census would help the poor and would be in the interest of the nation.

(With Agency Inputs)