BJP wary after Jats answer protest call in UP, Haryana
NEW DELHI: The Jat mahapanchayat’s decision on Friday to support the farm protest, the presence of tens of thousands of farmers from western Uttar Pradesh in this meeting, and the fact that some of these farmers and also Jat farmers from Haryana have arrived at or are driving towards Ghazipur on the Delhi border has set alarm signals flashing in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which counts the community as part of its support base in key northern states.
Senior BJP leaders said on condition of anonymity that they fear the farmers agitation could affect its prospects in states such as Uttar Pradesh.
“We are watching events unfold. While it is too soon to say that there will be a problem with the Jats, we are cautious. The party is continuing to reach out to community leaders and Khap (clan) elders,” said one of the leaders, a senior party functionary.
On Thursday night, facing an ultimatum from Uttar Pradesh police to vacate the area, and the prospect of no power and water (the local administration cut of supplies of both to the campsite) farmer leader Rakesh Tikait broke down while appealing to farmers from western UP to join the protest; this resulted in a huge mobilisation of farmers at the Gazipur border that continued through Friday.
On Friday, opposition parties such as the Congress, the Rashtriya Lok Dal and the Indian National Lok Dal extended support to the farmers who are demanding a repeal of the farm laws.
While the BJP has so far managed to quell voices of dissent in Haryana, where it runs a coalition government with the Jannayak Janta Party that counts Jats as its primary vote base, party leaders said it does not want a repeat of the violence that erupted in 2016 following the agitation by Jats seeking the benefits reserved for OBC communities.
“Despite the 2016 Jat agitation, the party managed to increase its vote share in Haryana, but recent events have the potential to cause problems,” said a second leader.
Since the beginning of the farmers’ agitation, over half a dozen JJP MLAS, a few independent legislators, and BJP leaders from the region have expressed concern over the handling of the crisis. In Rajasthan, the the BJP’S ally, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party leader and Nagaur MP, Hanuman Beniwal, parted ways with the party over the farm agitation.
“The events that unfolded last night are avoidable. It does not augur well for the party to have the farm agitation take the form of communal politics,” added the second leader.
Former national general secretary of the BJP and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Jain said the agitation is politically motivated.
But experts said that doesn’t solve the party’s problem.
Political commentator Manisha Priyam said the coming together of Sikhs and Jats is a message that the politics of identity is not enough.
“The BJP government will have to address economic insecurities. The farm crisis shows that there is a fear among the landed, dominant castes (such as the Jats) that their land will go,” she said.