The Bhartiya Janata Party is now growing increasingly insecure about its position in western Uttar Pradesh which was, until now, considered a stronghold of the party after the Muzaffarnagar riots.
The Bhartiya Janata Party is now growing increasingly insecure about its position in western Uttar Pradesh which was, until now, considered a stronghold of the party after the Muzaffarnagar riots.
Its confidence in forming the next government in Uttar Pradesh also stemmed from the fact that it was sure of making maximum gains from western UP where polarization of votes gave it a massive edge.
Western UP has about 77 assembly seats (minus the Rohilkhand region) with Jats, Dalits and Muslims dominating the population. Hindus constitute about 72.6 per cent of the population while the Muslims are about 25.8 per cent.
The BJP’s cause for worry now is to do with the Dalits and Jats who are getting increasingly disillusioned with the party. Both these communities had voted in large numbers for the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The Jats in the region are upset with the BJP over the reservation issues, and Khap meetings, held in UP and Haryana over the past two months, have declared that the Jats should not vote for the BJP unless they were given reservation before the 2017 polls.
If the Jats do not vote en masse for the BJP, the party could be in trouble in this region. Moreover, its attempts to intensify the polarization of votes based on incidents in Dadri, Kairana and Mathura have also fizzled out. The Dalits, on the other hand, are apprehensive of the BJP after the recent attacks on them across the country by alleged ‘gau rakshaks’. They are also wary of going with the BSP in west UP since they feel that the party may ultimately form a coalition government with the BJP which it has done thrice in the past. A senior BJP MLA from western UP also admitted that the party should make efforts to sustain the polarization of voters that took place during the Muzaffarnagar riots.
“Jat reservation is undoubtedly a major issue and our leaders should pay attention to it,” he said.
