Lok Sabha Polls 2024: BJP's two ploys for two states

BJP seems to have opted for two different strategies to deal with Jats, one of the politically powerful communities and a tricky vote segment in north India for political parties. While BJP would try to consolidate Jat votes in Uttar Pradesh, it expects to reap the benefit from the community's vote division in Haryana.

In recent weeks, Jat politics has seen Jayant Chaudhary-led RLD dumping its alliance with SP and aligning with BJP in Uttar Pradesh. However, BJP did not hesitate to easily break its alliance with JJP, a party like RLD in Haryana. While BJP shared two seats with RLD, including Baghpat which it won last time, it was not willing to accommodate an ally of over last four years, JJP, in the neighbouring state by giving it two Lok Sabha seats which it was seeking.

BJP insiders attribute the different approach to the different political dynamics in the states. In Western UP, Muslims are expected to vote against BJP and by poaching RLD from SP-Congress alliance, BJP hopes to insure itself from the threat of losing the belt. However, in Haryana, some internal surveys conducted by BJP show that a section of Jat voters, in the aftermath of farmers' and wrestlers' protests, would move back to Congress, whose tallest leader in the state is BS Hooda, who hails from the community.


A senior Haryana BJP leader said that consolidation of Jat votes leads to counter consolidation of non-Jat votes in the state and the party expects to capitalise on the phenomenon. Since BJP does not have a charismatic Jat leader in Haryana, it hopes JJP, its erstwhile ally, would take away a part of the Jat votes meant for Congress too and help BJP in the Lok Sabha and assembly polls later this year.

Hooda, hence, was not off the mark when he alleged that BJP's sudden breakup with JJP was based on an 'understanding to divide anti-BJP votes'. BJP was accused of playing a similar strategy in Bihar by 'using Chirag Paswan' to limit JDU's seats in the last assembly elections.

The community, which by the 1990s had a PM and deputy PM, has always looked up for a leader of stature. When national parties didn't have any big leader from the community, Jats have sided with regional parties with a big leader from the community to ensure proper representation to it.

The community has the capacity to influence results in nearly 40 Lok Sabha and nearly 160 assembly seats across UP, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi. Jats are categorised as OBCs in UP, Rajasthan, Delhi, Himachal and Madhya Pradesh, but they do not have the status in the central list. However, Rajasthan's Bharatpur and Dholpur districts are exceptions. Jats here are in the central list of OBCs.