Kurukshetra MP Raj Kumar Saini, a Bharatiya Janata Party rebel, is trying to carve an identify for himself in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, through his own political outfit- Loktantra Suraksha Party (LSP) in Haryana.
Eyeing the collective votebank of Dalits and backward classes in the state, Saini’s LSP is contesting in an alliance with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party on 10 parliamentary seats in the state with LSP getting two seats and remaining eight in BSP’s kitty.
For the Haryana Assembly polls, the LSP has been given 55 seats while the BSP will field its candidates in 35 constituencies in the 90-member Haryana Vidhan Sabha.
The Chief Ministerial candidate for the alliance, Raj Kumar Saini belongs to Saini (a backward class) community and has been a strong votary of anti-Jat lobby.
Like many BJP candidates, Saini too rode the 2014 Narendra Modi wave to defeat two-time Congress MP Naveen Jindal by 1.29 lakh votes and won Kurukshetra parliamentary seat but had distanced himself from the saffron party after violent Jat reservation agitation in 2016 in Haryana.
Since then, he has time and again spoken against Jat reservation under the OBC category, and has been projecting himself as a prominent OBC leader in the state.
In conversation with The Pioneer, he says, “His supporters are silent voters and will give a befitting reply to the BJP and Congress in the Lok Sabha polls.”
Saini alleges that in the past about 60 years, the Congress used the poor and backward classes merely as a vote bank and the BJP did the same after coming to the power in 2014.”
I am not against Jat reservation but want 100 percent reservation for all castes in proportion to their population, he adds.
Saini had climbed the political ladder step by step. From being sarpanch of an Ambala village three decades ago to a lawmaker in Parliament in 2014 and then floating his own political party for the cause of backward classes.
He has been vociferous in his demands for 100 percent reservation for all castes according to their respective proportion in the country, only one government job for a family, no to more than two children and abolition of Rajya Sabha.
Excerpts from the interview
What will be party’s main election agenda?
In the past about 60 years, the Congress used the poor and backward classes merely as a vote bank. After coming to the power, the BJP continued the same trend. We want 100 percent reservation for all castes in proportion to their population. The country has witnessed several reservation agitations and Haryana was even burnt during one such agitation in 2016. We promise reservation to all castes and one government job for a family. If we could not provide job, we will give unemployment allowance.
How do you rate the performance of BJP regime in Haryana and the country?
The BJP has done nothing but gave only statements and made hollow claims of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” in Haryana. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed that he belongs to the OBC community but he has done nothing for the welfare of OBCs in the country.
The state will witness a multi-cornered electoral fight this time. There is BJP, Congress, INLD, Jannayak Janta Party, Aam Aadmi Party and then BSP-LSP alliance in the fray. Who do you think as your main challenger in the polls?
We do not consider these parties as a challenge in the elections. Our main challenge is to put an end to the discrimination faced by backward classes in the country.
What is your view on prospects of the BSP-LSP alliance in the multi-cornered electoral election in Haryana?
Our voter base is different… Our voter is a silent voter who plays a key role in deciding the fate of candidates in election.
Will you contest the Lok Sabha polls?
I will contest Lok Sabha polls and have already begun my campaign in Kurukshetra. The party workers have been demanding that I should contest from Kurukshetra seat. We had given the Kurukshetra seat to BSP during our seat-sharing pact, but after the demand of party workers and their feedback, we have decided to reconsider it. An announcement in this regard will be made soon.
What will be your campaign strategy?
In the past, I have been attacked by the people of rival political parties so due to security reasons, I will be travelling in a specially designed bus for canvassing across the state. I have been already been holding election rallies and roadshows to reach out to the voters.
You have been very vocal against Jat reservation and had distanced yourself from the BJP after the violent Jat quota stir in 2016. It is being said that there is Jat Vs non-Jat divide in Haryana after the Jat reservation agitation in 2016. Do you think it will affect the poll outcome and favour BJP in 2019?
Leader in various political parties have been making attempts to divide the society with their statements. BJP did not do anything during the Jat reservation agitation and the entire Haryana witnessed violence in 2016. After the violent protest, the BJP even accepted their demand and gave them reservation in the OBC category… But I believe the voter knows everything now. We are against any caste based politics and will field candidates from all castes and communities in the elections.
After your stand against Jat reservation in the OBC category, you seem to have formed an image of anti-Jat leader in Haryana. Your take on this.
I never said anything against the Jat community. I was targeted by few leaders with an agenda of uniting the Jat community against me. I had only spoken about discrimination meted out to backward classes in the state.
You had held talks with the Shiromani Akali Dal of Badals in Punjab to discuss a possible alliance in Punjab. Are you still in talks with other political parties for a pre-poll alliance in the state?
Yes, we had held talks with the SAD in the past. We are holding talks for an alliance with other parties… We are still exploring options for the alliance in the state.