Kolkata: The Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in West Bengal has revised the state’s OBC reservation structure by restoring the pre-2010 list of 66 OBC communities and removing the Category A and B sub-classifications introduced during the previous TMC regime.
Under the revised system, a uniform 7% OBC reservation quota will now apply to the listed groups.
The move effectively reverses the earlier policy of the Mamata Banerjee-led government, which had included several Muslim communities in the OBC list under a 17% reservation structure.
The decision follows a 2024 ruling by the Calcutta High Court, which struck down the inclusion of 77 communities in the OBC category, observing that religion had allegedly become the primary basis for reservation, which violates constitutional principles.
The court had also cancelled OBC certificates issued after 2010, while allowing those already appointed under the quota system to retain their jobs.
DPCI Political Desk reports that the development has triggered fresh political debate in West Bengal over reservation policy, constitutional provisions, and allegations of vote-bank politics.
