INVOKING OLD ACQUAINTANCE

The audio recording of BJP chief Amit Shah’s meeting with Jat leaders that surfaced before Jatdominated western UP went to the polls was part of a well-calculated strategy of the ruling party. In the recording, Shah was heard making a plea to the Jats, reminding them of their long relationship and urging them to vote for the BJP. The move to ‘leak’ the audio was prompted by the assessment within the BJP that the party’s outreach to the Jats had failed to win them back. Whether the recording helped the BJP reap electoral dividends will be known only on counting day on March 11.