There has been a ruckus within the NDA over the Yogi government’s order of Uttar Pradesh to write the names of the owners and their associates in front of the shops on the Kanwar route. Many of its allies like RLD and JDU have questioned this decision of the Yogi government. RLD has opposed this decision very vocally. RLD chief and Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary has clearly demanded the Yogi government to withdraw this decision.
Talking to reporters, Rajya Sabha MP Chaudhary said that it seems that this order was taken without thinking and the government is adamant on it because the decision has been taken. Sometimes such things happen in the government. When asked whether the decision should be withdrawn, he said that there is still time to take it back or the government should not insist too much on (implementing) it. He said that everyone serves Kanwad. No one identifies Kanwad and neither are those who serve Kanwad identified by religion or caste. Opposing the government’s decision, Chaudhary said that the UP government has not taken this decision after much thought. He said that this matter should not be linked to religion and caste. He said that everyone serves Kanwad pilgrims.
Why did Jayant become vocal?
RLD, a party with only two MPs in the Lok Sabha, has given a big political message by opposing the decision of the Yogi government. This voice of protest has arisen from within the NDA. The support base of RLD is concentrated in Western UP. In this area, the BJP has become very weak in the 2024 elections. At the same time, RLD has managed to win both its seats in alliance with the BJP. Its strike rate of victory was 100 percent.
There are 26 Lok Sabha seats in the West
There are 26 Lok Sabha seats in West UP. Despite the alliance with RLD, NDA was able to win only 13 seats. Two of these 13 seats belong to RLD. In 2019, BJP had won 18 seats here. BJP’s big Jat leader Sanjeev Baliyan lost to SP’s Jat leader Harendra Malik from Muzaffarnagar seat. BJP’s victory margin on many seats has reduced significantly compared to last time.
Politics of farmers, not Jats
Jayant Chaudhary, who was seen politically marginalized for a long time before the Lok Sabha elections, wants to establish the identity of his party after the Lok Sabha elections. The 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots created a gap between the Jat and Muslim community in the West. In an attempt to bridge that gap, RLD was marginalized for about 10 years. In 2019, Jayant Chaudhary’s father Ajit Chaudhary lost the Lok Sabha elections from Muzaffarnagar. RLD was reduced to zero in that election. RLD suffered the most due to the gap between the Jat and Muslim community.
Jayant’s eyes are on the Muslim vote
Despite going with the NDA, the RLD chief wants to establish his secular identity. His party has been a party of farmers. The Jat community is definitely the largest farmer community in West UP. But, a good number of Muslims are also associated with farming in this area. A section of the Muslim community still votes for Jayant. To woo these Muslim voters, Jayant is somehow opposing the decision of the Yogi government. He wants to create a vote bank of the Jat and Muslim communities.
Meerapur by-election
The immediate reason for the opposition to the Yogi government’s decision is the Meerapur by-election. By-elections are going to be held on 10 assembly seats in the state. Meerapur is also one of these seats. RLD national secretary Anupam Mishra has said that despite the alliance with the BJP, the party is sticking to its secular politics. Despite being a part of the NDA, no big Muslim leader of the party has distanced himself from it. He even said that the party is trying to field a Muslim candidate in the by-election to be held on the Meerapur assembly seat.
Tags: CM Yogi Adityanath, Jayant Chowdhary
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 21, 2024, 18:14 IST