Why farmer agitation failed to stop BJP juggernaut in UP

The over a year long farmers' agitation against the now scrapped farm laws and the perceived anger among the electorally influential 'Jat' community had led many political pundits to believe that the BJP could suffer a serious dent in the UP polls, especially in the western region but the results indicated otherwise.

The saffron party not only managed to win 51 of the 76 seats in the 'Jat' dominated districts but it swept Mathura, Agra besides scoring impressive wins in Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and in the strongholds of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), a predominantly Jat outfit led by Jayant Chaudhary.

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BJP also won all the eight seats in Lakhimpur Kheri district, where four farmers were mowed down by a vehicle allegedly being driven by Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister Ajai Kumar Mishra, during a protest demonstration by the farmers in October last year.

BJP candidates registered wins in Khatauli, the native village of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leaders Rakesh Tikait and Naresh Tikait, who had publicly opposed the saffron party and extended support to the RLD. The saffron party also won Baghpat seat, a traditional stronghold of the RLD, dominated by the Jat community.

State BJP leaders here attributed the victory in the region to the withdrawal of the farm laws and the massive outreach exercise launched by the saffron party to placate the Jat community members through its own leaders hailing from the community. ''The withdrawal of the farm laws sent a positive message to the farmers. Amit Shahji also held meetings with Jat leaders to persuade them to support the party,'' said a senior UP BJP leader while speaking to DH here.

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Union Minister Sanjiv Baliyan, who also hailed from the 'Jat' community, had visited the BKU President Naresh Tikait and closeted with him for over an hour at the latter's residence at Sisouli in Muzaffarnagar district on Monday.

A BKU leader said that the 'Jat' vote was divided and the elders in the community appeared to have opted for the BJP while the youngsters supported the RLD.

In Lakhimpur Kheri, the leader said, the party's decision not to sack Ajai Mishra did the trick. ''We knew all along that only a handful of people, who were not farmers, were against us and the common people were with us,'' the leader added.

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