How Rajput caste panchayats are keeping BJP on the edge in western UP

Thousands from the Rajput community in western Uttar Pradesh took part in the meeting

A series of caste panchayats being held across western Uttar Pradesh by the Rajputs- also known as Thakurs, considered among BJP’s core voter base, to mark their displeasure against their alleged marginalisation and ticket distribution, has forced the saffron party to initiate a host of damage-control measures.

In the latest Mahapanchayat held at Dhaulana in Ghaziabad on April 18, the group even passed a resolution calling upon the members of their community not to vote for the BJP. The Dhaulana segment topped the polling percentages among the five segments of Ghaziabad parliamentary constituency in 2019.

On April 7, the Rajputs held a massive Mahapanchayat in Saharanpur, which created ruffles within the saffron party. The group is irked over several issues, including lesser Lok Sabha tickets despite having a sizeable population of nearly 10 per cent in western Uttar Pradesh.

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How Thakurs and Rajputs hold sway in western UP

In some seats of western Uttar Pradesh, the group wields considerable influence. Additionally, they also compete for dominance in the political and social discourse in parts of west UP due to their status in the caste hierarchy and economic heft. However, in a pan-state calculus, the Thakurs and Rajputs are not numerically significant.

After Muslims and Dalits, Rajputs are the single largest community across western UP, especially concentrated in Ghaziabad, Saharanpur, Meerut, Kairana, Gautam Budh Nagar, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat and Aligarh, among others, experts said.

Rajput’s agitation for self-respect

The outrage by Rajputs in Gujarat over Union minister Parshottam Rupala’s controversial comments on Kshatriyas entering relationships of “roti-beti” (breaking bread and entering into marital relations) with the British and the ticket distribution in western Uttar Pradesh provided the fillip to launch a fresh agitation for “self-respect” in Uttar Pradesh.

How Rajputs emerged as a significant voting bloc in west UP

Thakurs or Rajputs constitute around 10-13 percent of UP's population and their vote could affect the prospects of a party in Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Meerut, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Kairana, and Bijnor but this time the BJP hasn’t fielded any Thakur candidate from these seats. The only exception is Thakur Sarvesh Singh from Moradabad whom the party has repeated despite losing in 2019.

How disgruntled Thakur-Rajput leaders are leading the agitation

The saffron party is also facing trouble from disgruntled Thakur-Rajput leaders. While there is still no clarity on the nomination of controversial Kaiserganj MP Brij Bhushan Singh Sharan, who is accused of sexually harassing female wrestlers, the public  display of hostility between the former legislator and Rajput leader from Meerut Sangeet Som and the sitting BJP MP in Muzaffarnagar Sanjeev Balyan, a Jat, has provided more fuel to the dissatisfaction of Rajputs.

A section of Rajputs believe that in 2022, Balyan played a role in ensuring the defeat of Som. In his interviews during campaigning, Balyan has also made hostile remarks against Som for not campaigning for him. Som has responded in kind.

An unified show of strength

The immediate provocation may be attributed to denial of ticket to VK Singh, a Rajput, and extended the ticket for the Ghaziabad Lok Sabha constituency to Atul Kumar Garg, a bania.

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.

Not only Thakurs from all western Uttar Pradesh districts thronged to Ghaziabad panchayat, even Rajput delegations from Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh participated in the ongoing panchayats. Similarly, Rajput delegations from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan also took part in the Gujarat Thakur panchayat in April 14, an indicatrion of the emergence of an all-India network with good organising expertise than can convert Thakur anger into public displays of protest in the next couple of days.

Mihir Bhoj constituency

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.

How BJP is employing  a host of damage-control measures

Sensing the brewing anger in parts of western Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has deployed its dedicated teams in the Rajput-dominated villages in Gautam Budh Nagar Lok Sabha constituency as the society is said to be feeling ignored this time in terms of inadequate tickets given to them.

The BJP last week inducted Samajwadi Party’s (SP) senior leader Madan Chauhan, a Rajput, a three-time MLA and former minister in the UP government into its party fold.