BJP mulls stronger representation of Gurjars in west UP

Lucknow: The Bharatiya Janata Party is working to strengthen its presence among the electorally significant Gurjar community in western Uttar Pradesh ahead of the next year's assembly elections.It assumes significance as Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday made strong outreach to the Gurjars at a rally in Dadri by promising to install a grand statue of Samrat Mihir Bhoj — the 9th-century ruler of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty in medieval India — at the Gomti riverfront in Lucknow.UP BJP sources said that the party think tank is considering enhancing the representation of Gurjars in rural local bodies, particularly zila panchayats, where elections are expected to be held later this year. Gurjars constitute around 7-10% of the west UP population and influence electoral outcomes in more than three dozen assembly constituencies in districts such as Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Saharanpur, Baghpat, Shamli and Bijnor."The Gurjar community was, is, and will remain firmly associated with the party. The opposition is trying to mislead them, but we will not allow that to happen," said BJP's west UP president Satyendra Sisodia.The BJP has already given representation to Gurjars in various legislative bodies. In Lok Sabha, the party is represented by Kanwar Singh Tanwar (Amroha MP) and Surendra Singh Nagar in the Rajya Sabha. In UP assembly, BJP has five MLAs from the community -- Nand Kishore Gurjar (Loni), Tejpal Nagar (Dadri), Kirat Singh Gurjar (Gangoh), Somendra Tomar (Meerut South) and Mukesh Chaudhary (Nakur). Tomar also is a minister in the UP govt.Further, Narendra Singh Bhati (Bulandshahr-Noida Local Authorities) and Virender Singh (Shamli) represent the party in Legislative Council. BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal also has some base among Gurjars. The party is represented by Gurjar MP Chandan Chauhan in the Lok Sabha, while two of its nine MLAs in the state assembly -- Madan Singh Kasana aka Madan Bhaiyya and Pradeep Chaudhary — belong to the community. Notably, both won their seats in 2022 when the RLD allied with SP in elections. Yadav's outreach is being viewed as a calculated attempt to reach out to non-Yadav OBCs and expand beyond its traditional Muslim-Yadav base. At present, BJP's presence among non-Yadav OBCs is central to its electoral dominance in the state. In the 2022 assembly elections, SP improved its tally, but failed to make a significant dent in the BJP's base.Experts say BJP has taken note of this renewed push, as it seeks to protect its broader social coalition — particularly among non-Yadav OBC communities — that has been central to its electoral dominance in the state.
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