Amid Jat anger at BJP, Amit Shah looks to lure Jayant Chaudhary

Is the BJP sounding desperate that it is inviting Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Jayant Chaudhary to join hands with it in Uttar Pradesh? Else, why would Union Home Minister Amit Shah, campaigning intensely in western UP, reach out to Chaudhury, an ally of BJP rival Samajwadi Party (SP), twice in less than 10 days?

“Jayantbabu is the right man on the wrong side”; “Jayant thinks (SP leader) Akhilesh Yadav will listen to him”; “Jayantbabu, you are mistaken. Someone who does not listen to his father and uncle, why would he listen to you”; “If at all the SP government is formed, you would be sidelined on the third day and (SP MP) Azam Khan will be released from jail and take your place”; “Akhilesh will drown Jayantbabu’s voice”; “Akhilesh said they (SP and RLD) are together, but for how long? It is only till the day of counting.”

These were the remarks of Shah who was clearly seeking to woo the RLD leader.

Also Read | Despite rebuffs, Shah seeks RLD tie-up for UP polls

Chaudhary, who has rebuffed Shah’s offer, has also accused the home minister of calling up RLD leaders and asking them to join the BJP, telling them that he would make them “Hema Malini” (film star-turned-BJP MP from Mathura).

“We don’t want to be Hema Malini,” said Chaudhary. “The invitation was a ploy to prevent RLD from getting Muslim votes. What will you get by pleasing me?...What have you (BJP) done for the families of 700 farmers (killed during the farmers’ agitation)?”

“The BJP is trying to create communal tension, I will never join hands with them”; “where were these BJP leaders when farmers were out in cold and sun for one year in Delhi and when farmers were killed at Lakhimpur?”

The overtures

Why is Shah, second top leader of the BJP, making these overtures? Is the BJP scared of not getting a clear majority so that it may need the RLD for support? Is it to confuse voters just a week ahead of the first phase of polling? Do they believe that the RLD may change and join hands with the BJP?

Also Read | 'Removal' of Chaudhary Charan Singh's photo from university calendar in Haryana fuels Jat anger in UP

The RLD is known to be a party of Jats who wield considerable influence in western UP, also called Jat belt of the state.

Jats, who supported the BJP in the last three successive elections (2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha and 2017 Assembly polls), are said to be angry with the saffron party because of the now-repealed farm laws and other issues, and are likely to vote against the party this time. Hence the outreach. Wooing Chaudhary means wooing Jats.

Shah has been touring the western parts extensively since about three weeks and may have come to know the pulse of the people. He may have realised that the BJP may not do well in the region. Shah also met a delegation of Jat leaders at his residence in Delhi.

Jats are said to hold influence in 40-50 seats in ‘Paschimanchal’, or ‘Harit Pradesh’ as Chaudhary’s father Ajit Singh used to call the region, so they make or mar the chances of any party.

The community is predominantly the farming class in these parts. While Jats and Muslims (also in significant numbers in the west) lived in near harmony till 2013, the scene changed after the Muzaffarnagar riots that ruptured the unity and gave a boost to the BJP’s electoral prospects in the region.

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