The government’s hurry to woo OBC votes is evident from the inclusion of the proposal for tomorrow’s meeting despite the absence of Chidambaram who is away to Singapore.

Singh’s proposal to provide 27 per cent reservation for students belonging to OBCs was to be carried out by expanding the infrastructure in higher institutes to provide for extra seats over and above that for the general category.

The idea was to increase the intake of students to ensure that the seat for general category students was maintained at 2006-07 level. However, with the matter pending with the Supreme Court, the government’s expansion plans hit a roadblock.

Until that happens, Singh plans to make up for lost time and claim the credit for OBC reservation in the year that has seen more election promises.