It’s the BJP’s idea to blunt farmers’ movement in poll-bound UP
On September 5, the Kisan Mahapanchayat held in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, has raised the spirits of the opposition. The leaders of the United Kisan Morcha have called for giving a tough fight to the BJP in the forthcoming UP assembly elections. However, the BJP has its own plans to counter the Morcha. Farmers' leaders have also reminded that they had launched a mass movement against the BJP even before the West Bengal assembly elections and took credit for damaging the BJP's electoral prospects in that State. There is a discussion in political circles in UP that the program to be held on September 14 in Aligarh is the BJP's answer to the Kisan Mahapanchayat, in which the BJP wants to send a positive message among the Jat community by laying the foundation stone of a university in the name of prominent Jat leader Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh. It is a strategy to blunt the sharp edge of the farmers' movement as well. The Iglas and Khair area of Aligarh is known as Mini Chhaprauli. It is the workplace of former Prime Minister and Jat leader, the late Chaudhary Charan Singh. Gayatri Devi, the wife of the Chaudhary, and his daughter have been legislators from Islas and Khair, respectively. That is why, to woo the Jat population, BJP has played what it calls its trump card — auniversity named after Jat leader Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh. The Raja was the king of Mursan State of Hathras. He was a freedom fighter who fought against the British and was exiled by the British as a punishment. Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh formed the government of India in Afghanistan. After Independence he came back to India. It is important to mention that in 1957, he defeated Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then representing the BharatiyaJana Sangh, from Mathura Lok Sabha constituency. Vajpayee lost his deposit as the Raja won by a huge margin as an Independent.
A section of the BJP is not happy with the party glorifying the Jat leader who defeated Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Also, the Brahmin lobby is feeling humiliated by this action of BJP. However, the BJP has its reasons for focusing on the Raja. His great grandson Charat Pratap Singh was in the news some time ago for having sent a legal notice to the Aligarh Muslim University over lease expiration of the land donated for the setting up of the university. The Raja donated the land for the university but his name was never engraved on the walls. The political implications of a new university in the Raja's name thus become clear. BJP leaders and workers from the Aligarh-Agra division are being motivated to mobilize crowds in the programme to be attended by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi. Preparations are being made to collect over two lakh people from the nearly 10 to 12 districts. For this, responsibility is being given to MPs, MLAs and party office-bearers. A sizeable crowd is expected to attend without any prompting if only to watch Modi speak. The BJP has plans to make this program bigger than the Kisan Mahapanchayat. Even without the farmers' issue, the programme would be significant because it will be the BJP's first massive public-contact exercise in the run-up to the 2022 assembly elections with Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in attendance. Police barricading and tight security are already in place at the entrance of the venue. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath personally inspected the rally preparations and security arrangements. Five helipads are being readied at the venue, three for the Prime Minister and two for the chief minister and the governor.
(The writer is an Aligarh-based analyst. The views expressed are personal.)