UP elections: Why BJP is so 'desperate' to woo Jats in western UP

In western UP, Jats top the list of priorities for the BJP. The politically influential community, and its main party Rashtriya Lok Dal, who have now teamed up with Samajwadi Party, could prove a nightmare for the saffron party.

Ahead of elections, Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah appears to have taken the responsibility to keep the community leaders close. In the past few days, he has met Jat leaders in New Delhi, reportedly called on RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary (Jayant said he won't switch sides "like a coin" and Akhilesh Yadav had termed Shah "desperate") and most recently, painted the community as the "victims" of the 2013 communal riots in Muzaffarnagar, a sensitive issue that drew a gulf between Jats and Muslims, who together formed abut 35 per cent of the electorate.

And the BJP, the obvious beneficiary of the polarised atmosphere, has swept the region in multiple elections -- in 2014, 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the 2017 state assembly polls.

But over the past few years, Jats, predominantly occupied in farming, are seeing the BJP as adversaries. Particularly, the Narendra Modi government's treatment of the farmers' agitation against farm laws, now repealed by the Centre, apparently keeping the region and, to some extent, Jats in mind.

Also read: In Muzaffarnagar, Amit Shah rakes up communal riots to woo ‘Jats’

The influential Jats

Jats are dominant in states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi. In some states, Jats, who are further divided on Hindu, Muslim and Sikh bases, are categorised under OBCs. They can swing around 40 Lok Sabha seats and as many as 160 assembly seats across the four states mentioned above, according to an estimate by The Indian Express.

The community has been led by various leaders, but the most popular Jatt leader was Charan Singh, the two-time UP CM and even prime minister for a brief period in late 70s.

Charan Singh, the grandfather of Jayant, current RLD chief, led the farmer communities away from Congress and Jan Sangh, the BJP's earlier avatar. He consolidated significant support, before handing over to his son Ajit Singh, the Express report notes.

The glory days are now history after the atmosphere changed following the arrival of Mandal and Hindutva politics. Jats in the state have sided with the BJP, election after election.

Also read: The melody vs the gutter speech of UP's Kairana

The equation in UP

As many as 40 seats in western UP are reportedly the Jats' influential playground. They are about 10-15 per cent of the population in as many as 15 districts. Muzaffarnagar, Hathras, Ghaziabad, Agra are some of the places where the community makes significant numbers.

Ajit Singh formed the RLD in 1999 and since then, the party and the leader has knocked on several doors to remain relevant. Ajit was also a union minister in the Manmohan Singh government. In UP, too, the party has aligned with multiple groups over the years for electoral benefits.

Prominently, the 2013 communal riots in western UP made way for the BJP. This boost for the saffron party led to a wave of support for Narendra Modi in general elections the next year.

In 2017, RLD won a sole seat, out of 94 constituencies in the region. And the famed unity of Jats and Muslims, forged by Charan Singh, stood damaged in a post-riot polarised environment.

This time, the Samajwadi Party, which boasts of Muslims' support, and Jayant Chaudhary, leading RLD, are hoping to renew ties between the two communities against the Hindutva brigade of the BJP.

"During the 2017 state Assembly elections, youth, Jats and other communities had voted in large numbers for the BJP but today they are forced to reconsider their decision. The issue of livelihood comes first. Our coalition government will develop western Uttar Pradesh as it belongs to Chaudhary Charan Singh Sahib," Chaudhary said in an interview.

(with DHNS/agency inputs)

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