West Bengal Assembly Reduces OBC Quota to 7%, Passes Two Bills Amid Political Rifts

The West Bengal Assembly on Monday passed two Bills amending the OBC reservation laws enacted by the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government. The new legislation reduces the quota for Other Backward Classes from 17 per cent to 7 per cent, in compliance with a Calcutta High Court directive.

The Bills—The West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and The West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes (Amendment) Bill, 2026—now provide reservation to 66 classes under the OBC category. The previous list included 179 classes, but the High Court struck down 113 of these, citing lack of proper survey and violation of constitutional procedures.

Introducing the Bills, Minister for Backward Classes Welfare Gaurishankar Ghosh stated that the government was acting on the High Court's orders and had no political motives. “We have removed 113 classes included earlier without conducting any field survey, and retained 66 sub-classes, which were included following various surveys,” Ghosh told the House. He added that the Backward Classes Commission will now conduct inquiries and can recommend new inclusions for government consideration. “The previous TMC government had bypassed the Commission, and that is why the High Court struck down the process,” he said.

BJP MLA Arijit Bakshi from Dum Dum supported the Bills, accusing the former TMC government of creating the OBC list to “solely appease the minority community and secure its vote bank, thereby depriving the genuinely backward sections”.

The passage of the Bills revealed both a rare realignment and deep divisions within the TMC. While the ruling faction loyal to former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee came together to pass the Bills, the split within the rebel group was exposed during voting. ISF MLA Naushad Siddiqui objected to the voice vote and demanded division of votes. TMC MLAs Javed Khan and Sabina Yasmin also insisted on a formal vote. Speaker Rathindra Basu agreed to their demand.

However, soon after, the rebel TMC MLAs walked out of the House, but several of them—Kajal Sheikh, Baharul Islam, Byron Biswas, Pannalal Halder, and Tausifur Rahman—remained seated, defying the group's decision. On the other side, Mamata loyalists such as Sobhandeb Chatterjee, Biman Banerjee, Kunal Ghosh, Alifa Ahmed, and Pulak Roy stayed and voted against the Bills. A total of 186 votes were cast in favour and 17 against, including one from the rebel TMC faction.

The High Court’s May 2024 verdict had struck down OBC status and certificates issued to 77 additional communities, primarily added between 2010 and 2012, declaring the inclusions illegal and unconstitutional. It cancelled about 12 lakh OBC certificates issued after 2010 but protected those who had already secured employment through the quota. Certificates issued before 2010 remain valid. The new system replaces the earlier two-tier reservation: 10 per cent for Category A (more backward) and 7 per cent for Category B (backward).

On May 19, the newly elected BJP government discontinued religion-based categorisation schemes and regularised 66 communities that were included before 2010, restoring their eligibility for a 7 per cent quota.