How Mayawati is making poll battles tougher in western UP | Lucknow News - Times of India

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Jaati hai ki jaati nahi hai (caste is such that it never goes away)." This quote by satirist Harishankar Parsai appears quite telling about the ongoing elections in Uttar Pradesh. BJP's social engineering in 2014 and 2019 elections in UP was based on consolidation of non-Yadav OBC and nonJatav SC voters with the party's traditional vote-base. This time, in

western UP

, some of these affiliations are breaking.

Jat votes seem to be splitting, a section of non-Jatav SCs appears to be returning to BSP, whose traditional

Jatav

votes look intact in several seats of the region. While it's difficult to predict how these will impact the outcome, it seems that because of

BSP

some constituencies could have triangular fights.

Despite lying low compared with others,

Mayawati

seems to be making battles tough for them. Her Jatav caste, a subcaste of Chamar, appears standing behind her in Gautam Budh Nagar (Noida), which BSP had won in 2009. "Although most Jatavs here will vote for BSP, this is probably the last time we're supporting Behenji. If she doesn't win a respectable number of seats, the votes might shift, maybe to (Bhim Army chief) Chandrashekhar Azad," says Brahma Pradhan of Ramgarh village in Gautam Budh Nagar, who sports Azadstyle moustache. Rajendra Singh Solanki, BSP candidate from the seat is also getting a chunk of votes from his caste, Rajput, which had gone to BJP in 2014 and 2019. "Go to Ghodi Pachera village. Every Thakur house there has a BSP flag," Pradhan added.

However, in Bulandshahr, the Jatav vote seems to be splitting. "We won't put our vote down the drain. On election eve, we will have a meeting and decide whom to vote to beat BJP," said Ram Singh of Janipur Khurd village on Bulandshahr-Anupshahr road. "If a Congress candidate looks stronger, we will vote for Congress," he added. This uncertainty was absent in Gahana Govardhanpur village. "All Jatavs are voting for Congress here," said Gagan Kumar, who was riding a motorcycle with 'Jai Bhim' written on the back and a flag of Bhim Army in the front. "You tell us who we should vote for," quipped Rama Devi from the same village. "Is it okay if I give my vote to 'haath' (hand)?" she laughed.

"Jatavs moving away from BSP and Jatavs voting for Congress to defeat BJP are two different things," said Brahma Pradhan. "Either you met a few disgruntled people or maybe it's because of Congress. No Jatav will ever vote for SP for reasons we all know. After Behenji lost the mandate in 2012, the Gujjars in nearby villages made this place a living hell. Our women were disrespected and our cattle were stolen but police seldom took action," he said. Deepak Kumar of the same village added, "Apart from that, the BSP candidate is stronger."

In Baghpat, Mayawati seems to be also gaining voters who had ditched her for BJP in 2014 and 2019. "Our Jatav subcaste became the most politically empowered among the scheduled castes and this disenfranchised others. We tried BJP in 2014 and 2019 but we are returning to BSP in this election," said Bhavar Singh of Sanoli village in Baghpat, who retired from Delhi Transport Corporation. Devendra Singh of the same village had similar views. Asked why they had turned against BJP, Singh said the party is anti-Dalit and wants 400 seats to "change the Constitution".

Some others said BJP's alliance with RLD, which is dominated by Jats, had also put off Dalits, who see Jats as "oppressors". "How will they support those who didn't let them vote for 50 years? If some of them vote for SP, it will only be to teach BJP a lesson," said Anees, who was an AIMIM candidate from Chhaprauli in the assembly election. "In the 2019 election, Akhilesh and Mayawati were in alliance and Yadav (SP's traditional voters) votes were transferred while Jatavs voted for BSP where the party was contesting and BJP where there was an SP candidate," he added.

Incidentally, while Jat votes could be splitting in some seats, in the belt between Bulandshahr and Chhaprauli the community appeared solidly united behind RLD. "Last time, Jats here had moved to the SP alliance. Wherever RLD goes, we will vote there. These votes are for RLD and not BJP and they have remained intact from the time of Chaudhary Charan Singh," said Sardar Singh of Kurdi village. "However, our relatives are voting for SP's Iqra Hasan in Kairana," he said. "I am not happy with the government but like Bhishma Pitamah was tied to Hastinapur, Jats are tied to RLD in Baghpat," he laughed.

Sikandar Singh and Jai Prakash from Gahana Govardhanpur in Bulandshahr constituency said a section of Jats was voting for Congress this time because Agniveer and unemployment were big issues among the community.

In this belt, BJP seems to have retained support of many castes that have swung towards the saffron party in recent years. "Some Lodhs might be voting for Congress but BJP has a bigger number of the community's votes," said Sunil Kumar, Lodh from Kuchheja village in Bulandshahr. Lodh or Lodhi is an agricultural community whose biggest leader was former UP CM Kalyan Singh. "Bulandshahr is a Lodh and Saini (Mali caste) stronghold. And both these castes are with BJP. Kalyan Singh has been an MP from here," said Chandra Pal.