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In a calculated move ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP is making fresh overtures to the Jat community in western Uttar Pradesh by unveiling the statue of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh on his birth anniversary. Scheduled for December 23 in Moradabad, this move is seen as an attempt to address the party’s numerical disadvantage among the OBC bloc, especially in areas where the Jat community has a consolidated presence.
BJP Strategic Move: Unveiling Chaudhary Charan Singh’s Statue. Despite the BJP’s successes in western UP, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), led by Charan Singh’s grandson Jayant Chaudhary, has maintained its allegiance to the Samajwadi Party, presenting a challenge for the ruling party. The BJP’s decision to honor Charan Singh’s legacy with the unveiling of the tallest statue of the Jat stalwart has garnered attention, especially given the Yogi Adityanath government’s announcement of a public holiday on December 23 in celebration of Charan Singh’s birth anniversary.
Chaudhary Charan Singh Statue to Woo Jats in Western UP. The RLD, in response, has sought to counter the BJP’s move by writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the conferment of the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award, upon Chaudhary Charan Singh. The BJP, while expressing support for the Bharat Ratna for Charan Singh, questioned the timing of RLD’s request and highlighted the party’s past roles in power.
With the BJP strategically choosing Moradabad for the statue unveiling, political observers note the significance of this location. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, seven of the 16 seats the BJP lost in UP were from western UP, including all six seats in Moradabad division. Despite an overall impressive performance in the 2022 UP polls, the BJP faced competition from the SP-RLD alliance in the Jat belt, securing 10 out of 27 seats in Moradabad division.
To strengthen its position among Jats, the BJP recently appointed its first Jat chief from western UP, Bhupendra Chaudhary. However, the party faced a setback in the Khatauli assembly bypoll in Muzaffarnagar, a Jat-dominated area. Analysts acknowledge the BJP’s eagerness to win over Jats and its challenges in making significant inroads due to the SP-RLD alliance.
This move comes in the context of the BJP’s earlier outreach to the Jat community, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Aligarh to lay the foundation stone of a state university named after Jat king Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh in 2022. As the political landscape evolves, the BJP aims to navigate the complex dynamics of the Jat community’s preferences in western UP.
