Madhya Pradesh governor passes ordinance to hike OBC quota

Bhopal, Mar 10: Madhya Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel has signed on ordinance to increase the quota for other backward classes (OBCs) in government jobs and university admission from 14% to 27%.

Chief Minister Kamal Nath had made an announcement to this effect on March 6 while handing over loan waiver certificates to farmers in Sagar.

The move is being seen as the ruling Congress' efforts to woo OBCs in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.

With this, MP is possibly the only state in the country to have 27 per cent quota for OBCs, they said. OBCs in the state are generally favourable to the BJP since Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was MP's longest-serving CM having been on the post between 2005 and 2018, is from the community.

The BJP is believed to have pocketed more than 50 per cent of OBC votes in the 2018 Assembly polls, though it managed only 109 seats against the Congress' 114 in the 230-member House. Currently, the BJP holds 26 of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the Congress having the rest.

Currently, the BJP holds 26 of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the Congress having the rest.