BJP had swept the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in 2017, but the wrath of farmers over the farm laws could dent its prospects next year.
Farmers attending the massive gathering at Muzaffarnagar appeared to favour the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), an outfit now led by Jayant Chaudhary, the grandson of former prime minister late Chaudhary Charan Singh.
This sugarcane belt is angry at the government, both in Uttar Pradesh as well as the Centre, over the three farm laws that seek to give farmers an alternative to sell their produce at doorstep instead of the APMC markets, a move that they fear could dismantle the age-old trading system.
Bhajan Lal, a septuagenarian farmer from Shamli, said the cane prices have remained stagnant at Rs 315 per quintal, while neighbouring Haryana and now Punjab offer higher prices.
“One thing is sure, there is no voting the BJP in the coming elections. Jayant (Chaudhary) is our hope,” Lal told DH.
Mahendra Pal, a farmer from Himmatpur, claimed that a section of the voters is way about Mayawati’s BSP that had benefited from the alliance with Samajwadi Party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
“Many BSP supporters voted for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. This was a betrayal of the alliance with (SP chief) Akhilesh Yadav,” Pal said.
Rakesh Sharma, also from Himmatpur, admitted that the sugarcane arrears have been cleared by the sugar mills for the last season and very little remain to be paid.
“Large sums are due for the current season, but we hope that would be cleared in the next month or so,” Sharma said.
Chaudhary Mahendra Singh, a farmer from Shamli, claimed that the wounds of the 2013 riots have healed as farmers had seen through the “sinister” design of the BJP.
“BJP benefited from the riots, not any more,” he said, adding that Chaudhary Ajit Singh had also given a message for Jat-Muslim unity before his death in May this year.
According to Singh, RLD will hold sway in western Uttar Pradesh, while its alliance partner SP would prove its mettle elsewhere in the state.
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