For a while, the Rajputs have been opposing BJP leaders’ role in the controversy surrounding the identity of the 9th-century Hindu king Mihir Bhoj, who, both the Rajputs and the Gurjars claim, belonged to their community.
On 22 March, Rupala added fuel to the fire when he commented that erstwhile ‘maharajas‘ broke bread with the British and married off their daughters to them.
The Rajputs, who traditionally vote for the BJP, are now organising mahapanchayats and issuing boycott calls against the BJP and have even voiced support for the party’s rivals in a few western UP constituencies including Gautam Buddha Nagar, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Saharanpur, and Ghaziabad, which go to polls in the first two phases.
Leading the charge against the BJP is Thakur Puran Singh, a farmer leader and convenor of the newly-propped up Kshatriya Sanyukt Chunav Sangharsh Samiti — an umbrella body of outfits like Rajput Utthan Sabha (Saharanpur and Meerut chapters), Shri Rajput Karni Sena (SRKS) and Kshatriya Yuva Lokmanch — which is organising the anti-BJP mahapanchayats.
The BJP, in an attempt to defuse the situation in western UP, has initiated a series of meetings with community members and deployed senior leaders like Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to pacify the Rajputs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, campaigned in seats where the community is protesting.
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‘Vote for anyone who defeats BJP’
Over 10,000 community members gathered at Nanauta in Saharanpur district on 7 April for a mahapanchayat, the Kshatriya Swabhiman Mahakumbh. Claiming the BJP denied tickets to at least 80 Rajput MPs to contest the Lok Sabha polls, Thakur Puran Singh, who led the mahapanchayat, asked the gathering to vote for “anyone who can defeat the BJP”.
Pratap Singh, secretary for Meerut chapter of Rajput Utthan Sabha, who was at the meeting, told ThePrint that two other panchayats were held in Meerut’s Sisoli and Muzaffarnagar’s Kushwaha Chaubisi last Thursday and Friday, respectively. Similar panchayats were held in Dhaulana village in Satha-Chaurasi belt of western UP last week.
In the Khurja area of the Gautam Buddha Nagar constituency, members of SRKS last Wednesday appealed to the Rajput community to vote for BSP candidate Rajendra Solanki, a Rajput, and not BJP’s Dr Mahesh Sharma, a Brahmin.
The narrative, in these meetings, ranged from BJP’s denial of tickets to Rajputs to the Gurjar versus Rajput tussle over Mihir Bhoj’s identity, and “a conspiracy by the party high command against CM Yogi” — a Rajput face — “so that he does not become the PM”.
“Rajput community has been denied tickets, not just in western UP but across UP. This is an attack on the honour of the Rajput community… Dr Mahesh Sharma pitted Gurjars and Rajputs against each other by getting casteist words engraved before Samrat Mihir Bhoj’s name at (Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya) Institute of Archaeology (Greater Noida),” SRKS state president Thakur Dheeraj Rajput told community members at the panchayat in Khurja’s Arnia last Wednesday.
In Ghaziabad, the community is rallying for Congress candidate Dolly Sharma in public gatherings.
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Why western UP Rajputs are angry with BJP
The BJP fielded 14 Rajputs from UP in the 2019 general election, while it has fielded only nine this election till now, an analysis by ThePrint showed.
While sitting MPs like V.K. Singh and Virendra Singh Mast have been dropped, there is uncertainty about Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s ticket.
With the BJP yet to announce candidates for four remaining seats, there is suspense over whether Chandan S. Jadon and Dinesh Pratap Singh, who fought the previous general election from Firozabad and Rae Bareli seats, respectively, will be fielded again this time.
“Last time, there were three candidates from western UP, but this time, only a single candidate from the community has been fielded from Moradabad, a Muslim-dominated seat, where the BJP may face a loss. Members of our community had sought a ticket from Meerut or Muzaffarnagar but were denied,” alleged Pratap Singh.
“In Ghaziabad, sitting MP V.K. Singh, who won with a five lakh-vote margin, has been denied a ticket, while Sanjeev Balyan, who won with a margin of about 6,000 votes, has been retained (in Muzaffarnagar). Candidates from the community were seeking tickets in Meerut or Amroha but were denied,” he added.
He said Balyan Wednesday faced sloganeering and protests at a rally in Meerut.
Former MLA Sangeet Som, who, besides Suresh Rana, had sought a ticket from western UP but was denied, alleged that the public was against Jat leader Balyan this time. “The public is against Balyan this time. Forget the Rajputs, 60 percent of Jats are unhappy with him. He has made casteist remarks about Pandits and Rajputs publicly,” Som told ThePrint.
BJP leaders installing statues of Mihir Bhoj with plaques referring to him as a ‘Gurjar’ further added to tensions.
Over the past four years, there have been face-offs in western UP and Haryana between Rajputs and Gurjars, with both laying claim to the king. Rajputs say Mihir Bhoj belonged to the Pratihara dynasty of Kshatriyas and got the title ‘Gurjar’ since he ruled over the ‘Gurjara desha’ region. Gurjars, on the other hand, say he belonged to the Gurjar tribe.
“The BJP does not have icons and hence indulges in a ‘Mahapurush Vitran Yojana (icon distribution scheme)’ and distributes Kshatriya icons to other communities to create its vote bank. This happened with Pratihara dynasty king Samrat Mihir Bhoj and Mughal-era Rajput warrior Durgadas Rathore now. Delhi BJP honoured him (Rathore) in Teli community gathering, and the same is being replicated in UP and Rajasthan,” alleged Pratap Singh.
“Just because BJP does not have icons of its own, it is stooping to the level of distorting history, merely to create a vote bank, using the names of warriors who fought the Mughals,” he added.
Speaking to ThePrint, Thakur Dheeraj Rajput repeated an allegation that he often raises at community gatherings. “The BJP top leadership is conspiring against CM Yogi so that the Rajput face does not become the PM of the nation. He is extremely popular and the next PM face, but he can not make decisions in the party,” he alleged.
Rajputs in UP have also turned against the BJP over denial of tickets to Rajputs in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, and Rupala’s remarks. “We are with our brothers from Gujarat. They are not alone,” Thakur Puran Singh told the Nanauta gathering on 7 April.
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BJP starts damage control
The BJP top brass, sensing trouble, has been organising rallies of Yogi in Muzaffarnagar, Modi in Saharanpur, and Rajput leader Rajnath Singh across western UP. The latter visited Saharanpur Wednesday.
“On 1 April, when the PM arrived in Meerut, he met me with great affection and gently punched me in the stomach to express his love for me. He has always been affectionate towards me,” Sangeet Som told ThePrint.
Experts, however, said that the impact of the Rajput agitation will be limited to western UP.
Speaking to ThePrint, Mirza Asmer Beg, a professor of political science at Aligarh Muslim University, told ThePrint that while disgruntlement among the Rajputs could be a cause of concern for the BJP, its impact would remain limited to a few seats in western UP.
“This can lead to a build-up ahead of elections but will remain limited to a few western UP constituencies. This is about competition between intra-party groups. The communities indulge in such agitations because groups compete for a share from the same pie, and if denied, they try to make their presence felt and seek attention,” he said.
Shashikant Pandey, head of the political science department at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, told ThePrint that he was of the view that Rajputs are protesting because they feel the BJP is taking them for granted.
“Rajputs and Brahmins are the dominant upper castes, which try to assert themselves through such protests. However, the community (Rajputs) may feel that they have no alternative, and it is possible that the protest will fizzle out after some days… Moreover, BJP, as an organised party, has already started an outreach programme to control any possible damage,” he said.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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