Bhubaneswar: Odisha govt’s decision to constitute a commission on political representation of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs) is being seen as more than a legal exercise to restore reservation in local body elections. Coming months before the 2027 panchayat and urban local body polls, and after the extension of reservation benefits to SEBC students in higher and professional education, the decision, which was taken on Wednesday, is widely being viewed as part of the BJP govt’s effort to strengthen its connect with backward communities and occupy a political space that has traditionally remained less prominent in Odisha than in several other states.The commission, headed by retired Orissa high court judge Pramath Patnaik, has been formed to fulfil the Supreme Court-mandated “triple test” laid down in the K. Krishnamurthy case for extending reservation to backward classes in local bodies. The exercise requires states to conduct an empirical study on political backwardness through a dedicated commission, determine the extent of reservation based on its findings and ensure the combined quota for SCs, STs and backward classes does not breach the 50% ceiling.The panel has been given three months to determine the proportion of SEBCs in rural and urban local bodies and assess their political representation. Similar exercises have been undertaken in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and other states after judicial interventions on OBC reservation.The issue goes back to the 2022 panchayat elections when Odisha withdrew the proposed 27% reservation for backward classes after informing the high court that the mandatory triple-test exercise had not been completed.The latest move follows a series of steps aimed at expanding SEBC benefits. After introducing 11.25% reservation in undergraduate and postgraduate courses, the BJP govt this year extended the same quota to professional courses, including engineering and medicine.Welcoming the decision, former Union minister and Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan said the commission would help accurately assess the SEBC population, their representation and the issues affecting them in rural and urban self-governance institutions.The opposition, while backing OBC reservation, has questioned the timing. BJD MLA Arun Sahoo said the govt had ordered a fresh exercise even as caste enumeration is scheduled under Census 2027. “At such a time, one fails to understand why the govt has formed another commission. It appears to be a delaying and depriving tactic. They want to delay the polls by using this as a pretext and deprive OBCs of their due,” Sahoo added.Shukadeb Naik, a retired professor of sociology, described the move as both politically and electorally significant. “It is a calculated political exercise. The three-month window is too small,” he said, adding that any future quota arrangement should not come at the cost of existing reservations for SCs and STs. “With backward-class representation emerging as a sharper political issue in Odisha, the commission’s findings are likely to influence not only reservation policy but also the political narrative ahead of the 2027 local body elections,” Naik added.