MEERUT: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Naresh Tikait extended his support to the Rashtriya Lok Dal-Samajwadi Party (RLD-SP) alliance, setting the pitch for various khaps to follow suit. "Bhai, aap logan te pariksha ki ghadi hai. Gathbandhan te safal banana hai (Brothers, we have to make the alliance successful, this is the challenge before us)," he said to a crowd of supporters in Sambhal. He added, "Do whatever you can to make the alliance win." His statements were captured in a video that has now gone viral.
Asked about it, Tikait told TOI on Sunday: "Yes, I did request people to support the alliance. The sentiment is against the BJP and there is no doubt about it." His comments came a few weeks after his younger brother Rakesh Tikait said that the organisation would not support any party in the UP polls.
With Tikait pitching for an RLD-SP alliance, khaps in west UP are expected to be influenced by this call to vote. It was because of the prodding of khaps that thousands either joined farmers or helped them with food and shelter during the year-long stir against the now-shelved farm laws. After Tikait, who became a prominent leader in the farm belt of western UP during the protest, cleared the air about the party he is supporting, several khaps (organised social units that follow their leader’s call) became vocal about their support for the alliance as well.
Khaps in western UP are mostly dominated by Jats but they also have fair participation from people belonging to the Gujjar, Rajput, and Muslim communities. Khap leaders are mostly farmers, with big lands and a stronghold on their community.
One such leader is Rajbir Singh, the "chote chaudhary" of the Malik khap, which has its presence in over 52 villages including in areas such as Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Shamli, and Bulandshahr. Singh said he would like to vote for RLD. “Who will we vote for if not RLD? It's our party,” he said. Jats have traditionally supported RLD, founded by Charan Singh, for decades now. It was due to Charan Singh’s popularity that the community continued to shower its love on his son, Ajit Singh, and now to its current chief, Jayant Chaudhary, commentators said.
Deputy of the Deshwal khap, Sharan Veer Singh, said that his community will "not support BJP because the party betrayed farmers." People of over 72 villages participate in his khap and most of them are farmers. The khap has a strong base in the sugarcane belt.
Meanwhile, Rathi khap’s deputy, Jeet Singh Rathi, said, “Jayant Chaudhary is our leader. We will support him, today and forever.”
From Budiyan to Jawala, even smaller khaps in west UP claim that they will not vote for the BJP. "They lied about clearing our cane dues. It's still pending. We are suffering due to high power tariff costs and loan interests,” said Teenu Jawala from the Jawala khap in Shamli district.
