Caste and classes are a social phenomenon of Indian society. By participating in the modern political system, especially different backward caste and classes is now exposed to divisive influences and a new form of integration resulting from a new scheme of universalist-particularistic relationships. Caste has gained an influential position in India politics, which has been the traditional source of social empowerment.

Caste, class and social empowerment:

• The caste factor is an important factor of electoral politics in India. All political parties give great weightage to the caste factor in selecting their candidates, in allocating constituencies to their candidates and in canvassing support for their nominees in the election.
• On the one hand, a structure of divisions and accommodations, caste provides to politics. And on the other hand a cohesive element which absorbs tensions and frustrations.
• It becomes divisive when question arises of national unity. But regarding a locality or group matter, it gives a cohesive force by uniting people of a caste.
• For example: BSP banks upon the support of the Scheduled Castes, which is a backward caste and they also focus on the lower class. On the other hand BJP largely banks upon its popularity among the high caste Hindus and the trading community. In fact, while formulating its policies and decisions each political party of India in India almost always keeps in vision the ‘Caste Angle’.
• And because of that BSP could able to grab power in UP and also could be able to dominate in the union level at one point of time, and from then that caste and class has been the source of power to that party.
• The formation roles of caste association are also playing as important role in influencing voting pattern. Even political parties are considering caste as a vote bank.
• This enabled the lower castes to be politically influential on the basis of numerical preponderance.
• Even the constitution as well as parliament empowered them with various safeguards, which after certain point of time; it helped them to know the values of it.
• Sometimes several castes are using politics in their attempt to better their conditions or to achieve their goal.
• Reservation policy is another aspect where we can see that caste system also influences Indian politics, which will empower the backward caste people.

Conclusion:

The people belonging to different castes, in local level, and they try to have maximum control over Panchayats. New elite structure has emerged in politics which is drawn from different castes but shares a common secular outlook and is homogeneous in terms of some values. The caste identifications have given a new relevance to the electorate system. It is not only the large castes which affect politics but also the smaller castes which have become important in seeking votes and in turn helped them to get empowered.