West U.P: BJP, Oppn gauge ‘Kshatriya discontent’ factor
While Mayawati and other oppn leaders are eager to use it as a tool against BJP, the saffron party is confident of negating the local annoyance through the upper caste Kshatriya credentials of Yogi Adityanath.
MEERUT: With three days to go for the first phase polling in eight constituencies of western UP on April 19, the rising angst of the Rajputs against the ruling BJP has got their poll strategists worried.
Meanwhile, the leaders of opposition parties are trying to cash in on the growing anger of Rajputs, to corner the ruling party in the ensuing Lok Sabha election.
BJP’s poll strategists, are however, working to defuse the anger and largely banking on the party’s Rajput faces: defence minister Rajnath Singh and chief minister Yogi Adityanath to negate the annoyance of Rajputs.
Rajnath Singh held election rallies in Gangoh of Saharanpur district while CM Yogi Adityanath’s rally was organised in Rajput-dominated village Rardhana situated in Thakur Chaubisi (24 villages of Rajputs) in Sardhana area of Meerut district, which is a part of Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha constituency.
Initially, it was seen as a fallout of the ongoing tussle between party’s former MLA of Sardhana area, Sangeet Som and Union minister Sanjeev Baliyan, who has been contesting from the Muzaffarnagar seat for a third term.
Sources said that Baliyan reportedly undermined the election of Som in Sardhana constituency during the Assembly election of 2022 and he lost.
Som and Baliyan shared the dais in the Rardhna rally and partymen were confident that this damage control exercise will help settle the issue ahead of polling day. But, it was spiked by the statement of Som that “Baliyan has no stature of talking to him”, immediately after the rally. Meanwhile, the anger of Rajputs, which came out after a Panchayat in village Kapsad of Chaubisi, intensified further when a huge Mahapanchayat of Rajputs was held in Nanauta town of district Saharanpur.
President of Kisan Mazdoor Sangthan and leading Rajput leader Thakur Puran Singh gave an open call to defeat the BJP and vote for whoever was in a position of defeating BJP.
He accused the BJP of insulting the community’s heroes, ignoring their representation in BJP’s organisation and distribution of tickets in Lok Sabha election. BJP’s decision to deny tickets to Gen V K Singh, videos of Jarni Sena leader’s insult circulated on social media fuelled the anger further.
Another Panchayat held in Susauli village of Meerut district aggravated the anger further and Thakur Puran Singh administered an oath of Ram, and the Rajputs present in the Panchayat vowed “Pran Jaaye par Vachan Na Jaaye”. A retired commando from Indian Army and former pradhan of Rajput dominated village Nangla Kaboolpur, Satpal Pradhan, says, “It’s a battle for self-respect and honour. Nobody can take us for granted as we are not bound to vote for a particular party”.
BJP’s strategists are hopeful that they will control the situation before polling but party leaders like Amit Tomar and Satyaprakash Tomar are worried. They are Rajputs but at the same time dedicated workers of BJP. “I am totally confused about what to do? Worked for the party with utmost honesty but can’t ignore the Samaj,” said Satyaprakash.
Meanwhile, finding it an opportunity to woo the Rajputs to their fold, leaders and workers of opposition parties are reaching out to them. SP chief and former CM Akhilesh Yadav mentioned about the insult of Rajput Samaj in his Muzaffarnagar rally on Monday. A day earlier, BSP leader, Mayawati, talked about “Sarv Samaj” in her rally in Muzaffarnagar. She claimed that BSP takes care of people of Sarv Samaj. SP candidate in Muzaffarnagar, Harendra Malik and Congress candidate in Saharanpur, Imran Masood, are hopeful of benefitting from the annoyance of the Rajputs. The fourth such Mahapanchayat of the Rajputs is proposed in Khera village of Chaubisi on Tuesday, three days before the poll, and the outcome of it will decide the mood of election in west UP.