Ticket rancour stokes Rajput anger in west UP, BJP tries to douse fires

“Rajput toh mendhak hai. Kuen mein kood gaya toh usey wahi duniya lagti hai (Rajputs are like frogs. If they find themselves in a well, that becomes their entire world). But they have to change, or the community will lose its identity,” says an angry Rakesh Singh, 56, a resident of Meerut’s Rardhana village.

He has just finished hearing the speech of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath; on a loudspeaker, as he could not get a seat at the CM’s meeting. Rakesh says he was very excited, as it is not every day that a CM comes to their village. Plus, he likes “Baba (Adityanath)”, a fellow Thakur.

“We have no problem with him,” Rakesh adds. “It is Balyan.”

The reference is to Sanjeev Balyan, the BJP’s sitting MP from Muzaffarnagar and Union Minister of State, who – in his bid for re-election – finds himself in the cross-hairs of Rajput anger against the BJP over Jat “dominance”.

The Rajputs, estimated to be around 1 lakh of the 18 lakh voters across the 24 villages falling in the constituency and traditionally BJP supporters, have called for a “boycott” of Balyan. Community members accuse the BJP of “sidelining Rajputs” and “creating disparity among communities”, apart from “not doing any development”.

Sources say that at the heart of the issue is a tussle over ticket distribution, with Adityanath’s supporters reportedly not having their way in western UP, whose eight seats vote on April 19. A leader, requesting anonymity, says: “Do you think any other protest would have been allowed when the model code of conduct is on? Where five people are not allowed to gather, tens of Thakurs are protesting. The main reason is that Adityanath’s supporters feel sidelined.”

While Thakurs form among the most powerful groups in these villages, they are