Single Caste Parties with special reference to Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022"

Abstract

Political parties regulate politics in every modern democratic country. Since the 1980s, smaller parties based on caste have appeared in numerous states in India. They serve as a reflection of representational and recognition of politics. In Uttar Pradesh, people from the Most Backward Caste (MBCs) have been forming single caste-based political parties in large numbers over the last two decades to gain social, cultural, and political recognition. The BJP and Samajwadi Party formed a rainbow alliance of single caste parties ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2022. In parallel, the BJP significantly contributed to the state's growth of single caste parties. In the 2022 UP assembly election, single caste parties felt their presence in electoral and non-electoral politics.