Maharashtra: Caste Census Will Help Establish OBC Numbers, Says Fadnavis

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai after hoisting the national flag at Mantralaya and holding a meeting at Sahyadri Guest House, Mr. Fadnavis said caste had not previously been included as a subject in the census. However, the structure of the upcoming Census 2027 includes separate categories for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and caste.

The Chief Minister's remarks came a day after the Centre notified 40 questions for the second phase of Census 2027, including, for the first time, an open-ended caste question for every respondent, in addition to the enumeration of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

“Every State has different castes in its OBC list. Once the population of each caste is available, the OBC population can be obtained at the click of a command,” Mr. Fadnavis said in response to a question on the caste census, particularly the inclusion of a separate OBC category.

Describing the caste census as an important issue, Mr. Fadnavis said it would help establish the actual population of the OBC community. He also pointed out that former Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal was the first in the State to demand an OBC census and said Mr. Bhujbal had welcomed the government's decision.

In 2025, Mr. Bhujbal, a senior NCP leader and member of the OBC community, had demanded either a nationwide caste census or a declaration by the Centre that OBCs accounted for 51% of the country's population. The veteran OBC leader made the demand after he was denied a Cabinet portfolio by late NCP chief and then Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government.

On women's reservation, Mr. Fadnavis said implementation of the 2023 constitutional amendment providing for reservation for women in legislatures and Parliament was linked to the completion of the census and the subsequent delimitation exercise.

He said the 2023 constitutional amendment envisaged implementation of women's reservation after the census and delimitation exercises. According to Mr. Fadnavis, the Centre subsequently introduced another constitutional amendment during the Budget session to allow the process to be completed on the basis of the previous census if the new census was delayed. However, the proposal could not secure the required two-thirds majority after some Opposition parties did not support it.

“Today, the situation is the same as envisaged under the 2023 legislation. Therefore, if women's reservation is to be implemented, the only option is to complete the caste census and delimitation. The other option is to support a fresh constitutional amendment. Only then can women get reservation in 2029,” the senior BJP leader said.