Anandiben Patel has approved an ordinance to increase reservation for OBC in Madhya Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel has approved an ordinance to increase reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from 14 per cent to 27 per cent.

The ordinance is seen as an effort by the Congress government in the state to gain support of the OBCs ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

News agency PTI, quoting government officials, said the Kamal Nath government chose the ordinance route to ensure its implementation before the Lok Sabha poll model code of conduct comes into effect.

With this, Madhya Pradesh is possibly the only state in the country to have 27 per cent quota for OBCs, they said.

OBCs in the state have voted been loyal to the BJP since Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was the longest-serving chief minister of the state, is from the community.

The BJP is believed to have won more than 50 per cent of OBC votes in the 2018 Assembly polls, though it managed only 109 seats against the Congress' 114 in the 230-member House.

Currently, the BJP holds 26 of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the Congress having the rest.

With inputs from agencies