The BJP government in West Bengal, headed by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, on Monday secured the passage of two significant Bills in the Assembly aimed at restructuring the state's Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation system. The move reverses the expansion of the OBC quota and beneficiary list introduced by the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government.
The Assembly approved the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other Than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
As a result of these amendments, the OBC reservation quota has been reduced from 17 per cent, introduced under the Mamata Banerjee-led administration, to 7 per cent.
The BJP government stated that the changes were made in accordance with the Calcutta High Court’s judgment of March 22, 2024, which ruled that only the original 66 OBC categories had legal validity.
113 Communities Added During TMC Rule
During the TMC government’s tenure, the OBC list was expanded through the inclusion of 113 additional caste groups, many of which were Muslim sub-castes. The revised structure had classified beneficiaries into OBC-A and OBC-B categories, with OBC-A receiving a 10 per cent reservation covering 49 communities and OBC-B receiving a 7 per cent reservation for 91 communities.
Backward Classes Welfare Minister Gouri Sankar Ghosh said the purpose of the amendments was to remove provisions invalidated by the Calcutta High Court while retaining the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and original OBC categories.
Addressing the Assembly, Ghosh stated that neither the SC nor ST lists were being altered and that Schedule I, which contains the original OBC list, would remain unchanged. He said only the categories added by the previous government, which the court found inconsistent with legal requirements, were being removed.
The minister alleged that the TMC government had rapidly added 113 caste groups to the OBC list to serve political objectives and secure electoral support from a particular community.
According to Ghosh, the amendments were necessary to bring state reservation laws into conformity with the High Court’s ruling, which had struck down the inclusion of the additional caste groups.
Fresh Inclusions Still Possible
Under the revised framework, the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes will once again serve as the statutory body responsible for evaluating requests for inclusion in the OBC list. Ghosh clarified that the amendments do not permanently prevent new communities from being added.
He said that if the Commission, after conducting surveys and investigations, determines that a community qualifies for reservation on social and educational grounds, the government may consider its inclusion in accordance with legal procedures.
The BJP government also accused the previous TMC administration of adding the 113 caste groups without following the proper consultative process through the Commission, a move later invalidated by the Calcutta High Court.
According to the government, the new legislation restores the Commission’s authority in determining backward-class status and ensures that the state’s reservation policy complies with judicial directives.
