LUCKNOW: The tempo for the Lok Sabha elections in west UP seats already built up, political parties have done enough to woo the agrarian communities, or peasant castes, as they have the power to sway elections in favour of the candidates.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded candidates from Jat, Gurjar and Tyagi communities, each of whom have a dominant local presence.In Meerut, the party has fielded Devvrat Tyagi and in Bijnor, Chaudhary Vijendra Singh, a Jat, to name a few.
A Jat may be a Hindu or a Muslim, just like a Gurjar. Though in UP, the number of Jat Muslims may be very little. “There is one village of Jat Muslims in Ghaziabad and another in Baghpat,” said Jat leader and a political analyst Dharamvir Chaudhary.
Both come under the OBC category. Tyagis, on the other hand, are brahmans but a dominant agrarian community. Jats and Gurjars are both tribes. “For Jats and Gurjars, their voting behaviour may be dictated both by their caste and religious identities, depending on the given,” said political analyst Sudhir Panwar, also a Jat leader.
Jats have been the most dominant political powers in the region, said Panwar. This is because they always had the resources and were the landowners. Gurjars may be educationally and socially backward though they had a royal lineage in the past.
In the days of AJGAR (an umbrella outfit under which Ahir, Jat, Gurjar and Rajput castes were united by Chaudhary Charan Singh in ’70s), they voted interchangeably for each other.
Some of its impact may still be there. Jats may vote for a Gurjar candidate and vice-versa. “Because Thakurs, Jats and Gurjars also share a lot in common and identify with each other, a Jat candidate may pull votes from both Thakurs and Gurjars and so is the case for the other two,” said Panwar.
Such a caste calculation can bring a political party in reckoning in the seat. Like, it may have done for BSP in Bijnor.
“It is because BSP has fielded a very strong Jat candidate in Bijnor, Chaudhary Vijendra Singh, that it has made it a triangular fight,” said Javed Jang, a Kairana resident associated with farmers’ politics. Jang is a Muslim Gurjar. Samajwadi Party’s Deepak Saini, an OBC, is as strong a candidate as BJP’s Gurjar candidate, Chandan Singh Chauhan, he said.
The Dalits and Jats coming together may tilt it favourably for BSP. But Sainis and Muslims coming together may make it easy for Samajwadi Party. BJP, however, may always have an edge in the region after it joined with RLD, added Jang.
Samajwadi Party fielding Iqra Hasan in Kairana may also be driven by the same strategy. Hasan being a Muslim Gurjar may pull votes from communities other than Muslims, as well.
Apart from Jats, Muslims are another political power in the region, given their numbers. They range in numbers from 6.5 lakh to 7 lakh in Saharanpur, Kairana, Nagina, Baghpat, Bijnor, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar seats. BSP has fielded four Muslim candidates on eight Lok Sabha seats going to polls in the first phase. (Seats are Saharanpur, Kairana, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit).
“But BSP may not get Muslim votes. Because Muslims will vote for the party that can take on BJP. INDIA alliance, therefore, will be the choice for them,” said Chaudhary.
The fact that Jang agrees to. “Muslims will vote driven by minority-sentiment,” he said.
The caste equation that will affect the election results this time in west UP, considerably, is the breaking of Jat-Muslim combination. The BJP-RLD alliance has made Jats part ways with Muslims. “This may have rendered Jats politically irrelevant,” said Panwar, adding that Jats vote to save their identity, the reason why they have kept RLD always alive.
In that case, Jats who vote for their identity will go with BJP-RLD combine while those who vote as farmers, which may not be more than 10% to 15%, will vote for the alliance.
BSP may be assured of cornering Dalit votes but the experts do not agree. “Only Jatavs may go to BSP. Others may vote as Hindus more than Dalits,” said Chaudhary. Dalits and OBCs, like Sainis and Pals, are also significant in the politics of west UP.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded candidates from Jat, Gurjar and Tyagi communities, each of whom have a dominant local presence.In Meerut, the party has fielded Devvrat Tyagi and in Bijnor, Chaudhary Vijendra Singh, a Jat, to name a few.
A Jat may be a Hindu or a Muslim, just like a Gurjar. Though in UP, the number of Jat Muslims may be very little. “There is one village of Jat Muslims in Ghaziabad and another in Baghpat,” said Jat leader and a political analyst Dharamvir Chaudhary.
Both come under the OBC category. Tyagis, on the other hand, are brahmans but a dominant agrarian community. Jats and Gurjars are both tribes. “For Jats and Gurjars, their voting behaviour may be dictated both by their caste and religious identities, depending on the given,” said political analyst Sudhir Panwar, also a Jat leader.
Jats have been the most dominant political powers in the region, said Panwar. This is because they always had the resources and were the landowners. Gurjars may be educationally and socially backward though they had a royal lineage in the past.
In the days of AJGAR (an umbrella outfit under which Ahir, Jat, Gurjar and Rajput castes were united by Chaudhary Charan Singh in ’70s), they voted interchangeably for each other.
Some of its impact may still be there. Jats may vote for a Gurjar candidate and vice-versa. “Because Thakurs, Jats and Gurjars also share a lot in common and identify with each other, a Jat candidate may pull votes from both Thakurs and Gurjars and so is the case for the other two,” said Panwar.
Such a caste calculation can bring a political party in reckoning in the seat. Like, it may have done for BSP in Bijnor.
“It is because BSP has fielded a very strong Jat candidate in Bijnor, Chaudhary Vijendra Singh, that it has made it a triangular fight,” said Javed Jang, a Kairana resident associated with farmers’ politics. Jang is a Muslim Gurjar. Samajwadi Party’s Deepak Saini, an OBC, is as strong a candidate as BJP’s Gurjar candidate, Chandan Singh Chauhan, he said.
The Dalits and Jats coming together may tilt it favourably for BSP. But Sainis and Muslims coming together may make it easy for Samajwadi Party. BJP, however, may always have an edge in the region after it joined with RLD, added Jang.
Samajwadi Party fielding Iqra Hasan in Kairana may also be driven by the same strategy. Hasan being a Muslim Gurjar may pull votes from communities other than Muslims, as well.
Apart from Jats, Muslims are another political power in the region, given their numbers. They range in numbers from 6.5 lakh to 7 lakh in Saharanpur, Kairana, Nagina, Baghpat, Bijnor, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar seats. BSP has fielded four Muslim candidates on eight Lok Sabha seats going to polls in the first phase. (Seats are Saharanpur, Kairana, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit).
“But BSP may not get Muslim votes. Because Muslims will vote for the party that can take on BJP. INDIA alliance, therefore, will be the choice for them,” said Chaudhary.
The fact that Jang agrees to. “Muslims will vote driven by minority-sentiment,” he said.
The caste equation that will affect the election results this time in west UP, considerably, is the breaking of Jat-Muslim combination. The BJP-RLD alliance has made Jats part ways with Muslims. “This may have rendered Jats politically irrelevant,” said Panwar, adding that Jats vote to save their identity, the reason why they have kept RLD always alive.
In that case, Jats who vote for their identity will go with BJP-RLD combine while those who vote as farmers, which may not be more than 10% to 15%, will vote for the alliance.
BSP may be assured of cornering Dalit votes but the experts do not agree. “Only Jatavs may go to BSP. Others may vote as Hindus more than Dalits,” said Chaudhary. Dalits and OBCs, like Sainis and Pals, are also significant in the politics of west UP.
