Patna, Jan 21 (IANS): With the 2019 general elections round the corner, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday stressed the need for a caste-based census in 2021 and supported the demand for reservation in government jobs and educational institutions according to caste population.

"There is a need of a caste-based census in 2021 in the country. A caste-based census will reveal many things. The last such census was conducted in 1931," Nitish Kumar told mediapersons here.

Nitish Kumar's statement assumes political significance ahead of the 2019 polls as his rival party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), has repeatedly demanded that the caste-based data of the 2011 Census of India should be made public by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central Government.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad has been demanding since 2015 that the data should be made public to "ensure the empowerment of all those lagging behind in development."

Nitish Kumar said only a caste-based census will give the exact or the real population of a particular caste and their social condition.

He added that reservation should be given according to the population of different castes.

Nitish Kumar has made it clear that he has no objection to raising reservations for OBCs.