Muzaffarnagar 'Kisan Mahapanchayat' to decide electoral equations in UP's 'Jatland'

The 'mahapanchayat' assumes greater electoral significance in the backdrop of Muzaffarnagar riots

Both the BJP and the opposition parties would be closely monitoring the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) sponsored 'Kisan Mahapacnahat' scheduled to be held in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district on Sunday in protest against the new farm laws as it could decide the electoral equations in the 'Jatland' in the state.

Nurturing dreams to counter the BJP in the 'Jat' dominated western Uttar Pradesh region, the major opposition players would be hoping that the 'mahapanchayat' proved to be a ''grand success''. The BJP, however, will be praying for poor attendance at the congregation.

The 'mahapanchayat' assumes greater electoral significance as for the first time since the 2013 Muzaffarnagar communal riots, which claimed over 60 lives and left thousands homeless, that farmer leaders from both Hindus and Muslim communities will be sharing the stage.

A sharp communal polarisation following the communal riots had proved to be a huge boon for the saffron party. The BJP had swept the western UP region in the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019 and in the state assembly elections in 2017 riding on the division between the 'Jats' and the Muslims, who together have decided the outcome of the polls in the past.

The two communities are influential in over one hundred assembly constituencies in Meerut, Baghpat, Shamli, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Moradabad, Agra, Mathura, Aligarh and few other districts.

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While the BKU leaders claimed that around five lakh farmers from across the country were expected to attend the 'mahapanchayat', the police officials remained tightlipped on the numbers. The massive deployment of the security personnel in Muzaffarnagar and also on the roads leading to the venue of the meeting, however, indicates that the number could be sizable.

''We intend to send a message to the farmers and others across the country through this mahapanchayat....this government has been humiliating us...we are branded as criminals...so many of our colleagues have died during our ongoing agitation against the farm laws but the government did not take notice of our demands,'' senior BKU leader Yuddhveer Singh said in Muzaffarnagar.

BKU leaders from different 'khaps' (caste panchayats) have been visiting the villages and towns in different parts of the state to make the 'mahapanchayat' a success.

All the opposition parties have extended support to the 'mahapanchayat' though it is not yet clear their representatives will be allowed to attend or address the farmers.