Farmers Movement Archive

UP: On December 2, Amit Shah to lay foundation of new varsity in Saharanpur

LUCKNOW: Union home minister and former BJP chief Amit Shah will be in Saharanpur, a district dominated by Muslims and Dalits, on December 2, for the first time after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced repeal of three contentious farm laws. Though the farmers are continuing their protest with various other demands including MSP guarantee, Shah's visit is being seen by many as BJP's bid to woo farmers in UP, who are mostly from Jat community from West UP region, and Dalits. During his visit, Shah will lay the foundation stone for Maa Shakumbhari Devi University in Behat assembly constituency. A senior BJP leader told TOI that though the date is almost confirmed, the final decision would be taken on Sunday. ‘Shah’s visit seen as BJP bid to mobilise its cadre’Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who had announced the naming of the university after Ma Shakumbari Devi, would also be present with Amit Shah, the senior BJP leader confirmed. Of the seven assembly seats falling in Saharanpur district, four are with BJP, two with Congress and one with the Samajwadi Party. However, of the total 80 seats in west UP region, 60 are with the BJP. The saffron party faces the challenge to at least maintain the status quo. Nakur and Gangoh seats fall under Kairana Lok Sabha constituency while the remaining five fall in Saharanpur Lok Sabha constituency. BJP’s Raghav Lakhan Pal was defeated by BSP’s Fazlur Rehman in 2019 Lok Sabha election from Saharanpur constituency while BJP’s Pradeep Chaudhary won from Kairana Lok Sabha seat. However, since 2017, when the BJP performed exceptionally well in the West UP region in particular, the challenges and stakes before the BJP have increased. Some major challenges include winning back the Saharanpur City seat from SP. The seat was won by Rajeev Gumber of BJP in 2012 but SP’s Sanjay Garg managed to win the seat in 2017. The district is the stronghold of Congress leader Imran Masood. The BJP has a challenge to make a dent in Masood’s clout in the district along with wooing Dalit vote bank from BSP. Azad Samaj Party’s Chandrashekhar also has a stronghold in the district as it belongs to Saharanpur. His strength would be tested in the coming assembly elections as he failed to leave any impact in the previous Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. Naresh Saini of Congress had won from Behat vidhan sabha constituency in 2017 assembly polls. The district has around 40% dominance of the minority community while Dalits, mainly Jatavs, who have remained loyal to Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party are second in terms of population. Shah’s visit to Saharanpur is being seen as the party’s bid to mobilise the party cadre in the run up to Vidhan Sabha elections. Former MP from Saharanpur Raghav Lakhan Pal told TOI that the demand for setting up a university was long pending and would cater to the needs of the youths.

The Times of India

2021-11-28

Lucknow