NEW DELHI: The Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government in West Bengal has reduced the state’s Other Backward Classes reservation from 17 percent to 7 percent after restoring a pre-2010 OBC list and removing several Muslim communities included during the Mamata Banerjee government.
The new government notified 66 groups from the earlier OBC list and removed the Category A and Category B sub-classifications introduced by the Trinamool Congress government in 2012. Under the earlier system, 10 percent reservation was allocated for more backward groups and 7 percent for backward classes.
The issue has remained at the centre of political and legal disputes since the Calcutta High Court struck down a series of state government orders in May 2024. The court ruled that religion served as the sole basis for granting OBC status to 77 communities, most of them Muslim groups. The court also cancelled OBC certificates issued after 2010, while protecting jobs already secured under the quota system.
During the political debate over reservations, BJP leaders accused the previous government of favouring Muslim communities through the OBC structure. Suvendu Adhikari had claimed that Muslims formed a large majority of groups listed under both Category A and Category B in the revised 2025 notification.
The National Commission for Backward Classes also questioned the survey process used for the revised OBC list and sought details from the state government.
In July 2025, the Supreme Court stayed a Calcutta High Court order freezing the revised OBC list, stating that reservation falls within executive powers.
The latest policy shift has left several Muslim groups outside the reservation framework and reduced the overall OBC quota in the state.
