BJP faces infighting in western Uttar Pradesh amid boycott by Rajputs

BJP faces infighting in western Uttar Pradesh amid boycott by Rajputs

With days left for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, the politics in western Uttar Pradesh is heating up. Sangeet Som and Sanjeev Balyan, two prominent figures in the state BJP, are engaged in a bitter feud over caste lines.

Contrary to popular perception, the region is neither a Jat belt nor a Gujjar belt. A Rajput rebellion against the saffron party — caused by a careless comment about the community from Union Minister Parshottam Rupala — has cast the spotlight on the community’s massive presence here.

After Muslims and Scheduled Castes, Rajputs are the single largest community across western UP, especially concentrated in Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur, Meerut, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Bijnor, Nagina, Amroha, Moradabad, Sambhal, Aligarh, Hathras, Mathura, Agra, and Fatehpur Sikri. Rajputs are estimated to be over 10 per cent of western UP’s population.

Rajputs have remained loyal to the BJP over the years, but their share in tickets has dwindled to a historic low with only one seat in western Uttar Pradesh. Denying a ticket to General (retd) VK Singh from Ghaziabad, a traditional Rajput seat, and replacing him with AK Garg, a Baniya candidate, has not sat well with the community.

Now, Som (a Rajput) and Balyan (a Jat) are feuding: both leaders made statements against each other. Balyan said, “The party is watching who is saying what. It will take a decision after the elections.”

Som, on the other hand, said, “Who is Sanjeev Balyan? I don’t know who that is.”Â

After both leaders met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Meerut recently, they seemed to have softened their stance against each other.

SANGEET SOM VS SANJEEV BALYAN

Sanjeev Balyan has been facing protests from Rajputs for allegedly ignoring them and appeasing Jats. While trying to enter the Rajput-dominant villages of Som Chaubisi (24 villages of Som Rajputs), he was fiercely opposed, and following a fracas, his cavalcade was pelted with stones.Â

While Sangeet Som has a direct relationship with these villagers, Balyan accused him of being indirectly involved.Â

In retaliation, Som accused Balyan of being a casteist. The situation has now worsened for Balyan with Rajput villages virtually boycotting him for ignoring the community for five years.Â

THE RAJPUT REBELLION

According to estimates, Rajputs are over eight per cent in Muzaffarnagar, equal to the number of Jats, and can play a spoilsport if they choose to boycott the BJP during elections.Â

“We have nothing to do with what other communities are getting, even if they are punching above their weight, it is their call. All we want to do is ensure that the future of our community is safe. We cannot let the BJP try to erase our representation. Today they have removed General VK Singh, tomorrow, our representation will be finished in the process of appeasing other communities,” said Puran Singh, a community leader who has been holding panchayats across west UP.Â

The leader also accused the BJP of ignoring the community and giving more tickets to Jats and Gujjars who are lesser in numbers to bring them into the saffron fold.

Ruapala’s contentious comments against Rajputs are also a cause. Last month at a Valmiki Samaj event, Rupala, the BJP’s Rajkot candidate in Gujarat said that while the British oppressed and tortured all Indians, members of the princely states bowed to them, fraternised with them, and even married their daughters to the imperialists. While he has since apologised for this, the damage has been done.Â

MIHIR BHOJ CONTROVERSY

Bhupendra Tomar, another Rajput community leader, accused Mahesh Sharma, the MP from Gautam Budh Nagar, where Rajputs are highest in numbers, of openly supporting “history distortion” by opening a museum on Samrat Mihir Bhoj and attributing him to the Gujjar community.Â

Tomar said, “When the entire district was tense during the inauguration of a statue of Mihir Bhoj, he chose to take a biased stand and paid a visit to the Gujjar gallery where the ninth-century ruler is attributed as Gujjar even though the matter is sub judice in Gwalior. Kairana MP Pradeep Chaudhary (Gujjar), who has been given a ticket again by the party, is also very biased during the history distortion of Mihir Bhoj. He facilitated the inauguration of statues with the prefix Gujjar.”

FUTILE ATTEMPTS TO PACIFY

While Rajnath Singh held a rally in Saharanpur, Yogi Adityanath held a rally at Sardhana to pacify Rajputs. Yogi Adiytyanath’s next rally is also planned in the Jewar area of Greater Noida, a Rajput-dominant belt.Â

Despite these efforts, the ground realities remain unchanged and dissent in the community is rising.Â

The famous villages of Satha Chaurasi (144 villages of Rajputs), known as the factory of soldiers in north India for providing thousands of army and paramilitary personnel, also joined the rebellion against the saffron party. The villages that were considered to be traditional BJP voters are holding meetings against the party on issues like the Agnipath Scheme, which has led to a decline in the number of army personnel, and EWS relaxation, which they are demanding as an equal opportunity apart from lesser representation in party tickets and history distortion.

“We have been a traditional BJP voting village but not anymore. The Agnipath Scheme has been a disaster for the army villages of Satha Chaurasi with the youth turning away from the traditional military service and trying to find a private job due to the four-year volunteer rule. No EWS certificate is being issued to Rajputs who have little farming land. Local MP Mahesh Sharma sided with other communities when distortion of our history was taking place and now the BJP has reduced our representation to a historic low in Assembly and Parliament. We will not tolerate this, despite being superior in numbers, Rajputs are getting nothing,” said Kuldeep Sisodia, a resident of Khatana Dhirkheda village of Satha Chaurasi.

“This appeasement politics will not go down well with the Rajput community. We need to fight back and reclaim our place in power. Other communities like Jat and Gujjars are getting way more tickets than their actual numbers,” said Sisodia.

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