To pacify Rajput anger, BJP sends Adityanath, Rajnath Singh to western UP
To pacify Rajput anger, BJP sends Adityanath, Rajnath Singh to western UP
With anger in the Kshatriya community against the BJP refusing to die down, the party has decided to send its top Rajput leaders – Yogi Adityanath and Rajnath Singh – to western Uttar Pradesh to pacify the community. Sources said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be sent to campaign in Fatehpur Sikri and Agra, which has a substantial presence of Kshatriya (Rajput) voters.
Simmering discontent over representation in distribution of Lok Sabha tickets and Union minister Parshottam Rupala’s controversial remarks on Kshatriyas have fanned the anger of the community against the BJP.
Despite Kshatriyas having numerical superiority in Fatehpur Sikri, the BJP fielded incumbent MP and Jat leader Raj Kumar Chahar. Sensing the rebellion, the INDIA bloc has fielded Ram Nath Sikarwar, a Kshatriya, from the seat.
Ram Nath Sikarwar is a Kargil war veteran and lives in a temple. He campaigns using donations given by locals.
Sensing an opportunity to corner the BJP, the Congress is also leaving no stone unturned to ramp up its campaign. On May 3, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will hold a rally in support of Sikarwar on May 3.Â
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has given a ticket to Ramniwas Sharma, a Brahmin. The constituency votes on May 7.
Earlier known as ‘Vijaygarh Sikri’, the region was a citadel of Sikarwar Rajputs before it fell to invading Mughal forces in the mid 15th century.
“Despite Rajputs being the largest population in the region, a candidate from the community has not been given a ticket by the BJP in the last 15 years,” said Thakur Puran Singh, founder, Kisan Majdur Sangathan, which is spearheading the Kshatriya rebellion against the BJP.
Around 3.50 lakh Kshatriya voters in Fatehpur Sikri will be a deciding factor in the constituency.Â
Speaking on the issue recently in an interview with India Today TV, Rajnath Singh said the BJP doesn’t follow the politics of castes.
“In some elections, some communities get more tickets, some get less, but our goal is nation building, not only contesting elections,” he said.
Replacing General (Retd) VK Singh, a Rajput, with AK Garg, a Baniya, in Ghaziabad, a Rajput dominant area, has also added fuel to the fire. The Agniveer recruitment scheme in the Army and EWS relaxation are the key reasons behind the rebellion.
The rebellion was triggered after Parshottam Rupala, the BJP’s candidate from Rajkot, said at a Dalit event that the erstwhile ‘maharajas’ broke bread with the British and also married off their daughters to them.Â
Even though Rupala has apologised for his remarks several times, the anger has spread from Gujarat to Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh.