In News
- Recently, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced Amit Palekar from Bhandari Community as AAP’s Chief Minister candidate in the upcoming Goa assembly polls 2022.
Who are the Bhandari’s?
- It is Goa’s largest caste group constituting a significant percentage of its Hindu population.
- The Bhandari community’s traditional occupation was toddy-tapping and distilling, farm tilling and working in orchards.
- It is placed in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category in Goa.
- The community is spread across Goa and Maharashtra’s Konkan belt including parts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.
- As per the survey of OBCs which was conducted in 2014 by the Goa State Commission for Backward Classes.
- The population of OBC was 3,58,517 which was 27% of the total population.
- The total number of Bhandari communities is 2,19,052 which constitute 61.10 % among OBC.
Source:IE
