Like Jats, BJP always thinks of Kisans, India's security: Amit Shah

In a closed-door meeting with Jat leaders of western Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, home minister Amit Shah appealed to the community to vote for the BJP in the upcoming assembly election.

The meeting took place at the residence of BJP MP Parvesh Verma in Delhi, a fortnight before the polling in western UP.

ET had reported earlier that Shah had taken control of the UP election. Shah was the brains behind the BJP's emphatic victory in UP since 2014 Lok Sabha election, when he was general secretary in-charge of UP.


On Saturday, Shah had started a door-to-door campaign in UP from Kairana in western UP. He also held a meeting with party leaders in Shamli. On Thursday, he will visit Mathura and Dadri in western UP

Talking to the Jat leaders, Shah said the BJP always stood with the community. "Whenever we came to you, you showered us with votes in large numbers and helped in making our government in 2014, 2017 and 2019," he is believed to have said. "You have every right on the BJP."

Shah also listed similarities between the BJP and the Jats. He said Jats think about others, farmers' interests and national security, and that the BJP too thinks on the same lines. He also listed several undergoing and completed projects in western UP such as the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, sports university and Jewar Airport.

In the past, too, whenever the party has felt that there is trust deficit between the BJP and the Jat community, Shah had stepped in and successfully ironed out differences.

Since the farmers' agitation erupted over the now-repealed farm laws more than a year ago, there has been a perception of trust deficit again between the BJP and the Jat community. Wednesday's meeting was Shah's effort to ensure the community's support for the party.

Apart from Shah, the BJP's UP election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, co-in-charge Captain Abhimanyu, Union minister Sanjeev Balyan and other important Jat leaders, state ministers and MLAs were present in the meeting.