Patna, May 1 (PTI) A poster war has erupted on the streets of Patna between workers of the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc, each claiming credit for the Centre's decision to include caste-based data in the upcoming census.

The Union government on Wednesday announced that caste enumeration would be part of the forthcoming census exercise.

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In response, political party offices across the Bihar capital have been adorned with posters.

Outside the JD(U) office, a poster displayed on Thursday expressed gratitude to both Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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It read: "Nitish showed it, now the same has been adopted in the country. Thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Caste census from Bihar to India."

Meanwhile, opposition parties RJD and Congress also put up posters outside their respective state offices, crediting their leaders for pressuring the Centre to take the decision.

An RJD's poster read: "People bow, they need someone to make them bow. Ultimately, the central government accepted what Lalu and Tejashwi were saying. The credit goes to Lalu and Tejashwi."

Congress workers took their celebration a step further by pouring and rubbing milk on a poster of Rahul Gandhi outside the party's state unit office.

Another poster credited Gandhi for the Centre's announcement on the caste census.

Reacting to these claims, senior BJP leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary told reporters on Thursday: "Credit for the decision to include caste-based data in the upcoming census goes to our PM Narendra Modi only. If Lalu says that a caste-based census was passed in 1995–96, why was it not implemented? For 10 years, the Congress government at the Centre had Lalu's support — why did the caste census not move forward?"

Echoing this view, Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal said: "Modi had already made up his mind to get the caste census done in the country. Now, a caste-based census will be carried out nationwide. It will benefit everyone. This decision is historic. Now, all leaders of the INDI alliance are gradually becoming supporters of the Prime Minister, as they are celebrating this decision of the central government."

On the other hand, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav took to X and said: "In 2021, I wrote letters to 33 prominent leaders of the country urging them to support a caste-based census in the country. For the caste-based census, we and our socialist leaders have made many sacrifices. We have endured much humiliation, character assassination, and casteist remarks by the NDA leaders over this issue."

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