Hindutva firebrand Niranjan Jyoti’s appointment as NCBC head signals BJP bid to win back non-Yadav OBCs
Lucknow: Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, the firebrand Hindutva politician known for her controversial remarks, has been appointed the chairperson of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), in a move widely seen a part of the BJP’s concerted push to consolidate its base among the backward classes, which showed signs of erosion in the last Lok Sabha elections.
The 59-year-old, who belongs to the Nishad community (OBC), served as a Union minister from 2014 to 2024, when she lost the Lok Sabha elections to the Samajwadi Party’s Naresh Uttam Patel from Fatehpur.
A native of Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur district in the Bundelkhand belt, Jyoti is known as a staunch Hindutva proponent. She was elected as a Member of Parliament from Fatehpur in 2014 and 2019, and served as a junior minister in the Narendra Modi-led government for 10 years.
She often makes headlines with her controversial and polarising remarks. In December 2014, she sparked a major controversy when she told a rally in Delhi that voters should choose between “those born of Ram” and “illegitimate children”.
Addressing a rally in West Delhi’s Shyam Nagar, Jyoti had said, “Aapko tay karna hai ki Dilli mein sarkar Ramzadon ki banegi ya haramzadon ki. Yeh aapka faisla hai (You have to decide whether you want a government of those born of Ram or of those born illegitimately. It’s your decision.).”
Her remarks in the run-up to Delhi assembly polls led to widespread outrage and disruptions in Parliament.
Opposition parties strongly criticised her and demanded her resignation, calling the statement inflammatory. Jyoti later apologised in the Lok Sabha, saying she regretted her words, though she stood by her broader ideological position.
Addressing another rally in the city the same month she said that whoever comes in the way of Lord Shyamsundar’s Sudarshan Chakra will not be spared. “Rise, like Krishna, you too must sound the conch of battle. Peace will not come through peace here; for that, you will also have to take up the Chakra.”
In 2019, she made another controversial remark, this time targeting Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi.
Speaking to the media, Jyoti said Priyanka does not understand the meaning of the saffron colour because she is a “fake Gandhi.” She added that Priyanka should drop “Gandhi” from her name and instead call herself “Feroze Priyanka”, using her grandfather’s name.
In 2025, a complaint was filed with the Lokpal seeking an investigation into alleged illegal acquisition of property by Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti. However, she was granted relief in the case as Lokpal dismissed the complaint.
Jyoti started her career from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad at age of 21, and rose through the ranks to serve as its National Joint Secretary.
In Hamirpur, she was known as a disciple of local saint Swami Parmanand Maharaj. During her time in the VHP, she joined the BJP and contested Assembly elections three times, tasting success in 2012 from the Hamirpur Sadar seat after two unsuccessful attempts. She became an MP the first time in 2014.
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Behind BJP’s NCBC move
Jyoti’s name was doing the rounds for the post of UP BJP president, but the party eventually chose Maharajganj MP Pankaj Chaudhary, who belongs to the Kurmi community.
Jyoti’s appointment as the chairperson of the NCBC, a constitutional body set up to safeguard the rights, welfare, and development of socially and educationally backward classes, is in line with the BJP’s strategy of combining Hindutva with OBC politics.
It is also being seen as the party’s response to the opposition’s, especially the Samajwadi Party’s, “Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak” (PDA) plank, which impacted the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh.
“There had been speculation about Sadhvi’s appointment for a long time, and the reason is quite clear,” said UP-based political analyst Prof. Kaviraj of Lucknow University. “The BJP is now focusing more on non-Yadav OBCs, as it saw a setback among these voters in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when a significant section of OBCs supported the Samajwadi Party.”
The appointment of a Kurmi state chief and a Nishad OBC leader as the chairman of the NCBC sends a clear message that the party is trying to win back these communities, he said. “Apart from that, Niranjan Jyoti is both a Hindu face and an OBC leader, similar to the role Uma Bharti played in the past.”
Requesting anonymity, a senior state BJP leader said, “This appointment gives a message that the party is very much focussed on UP. They are preferring Non-Yadav OBCs, that is our target for next UP elections.”
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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