The election campaign has taken a belligerent tone in Uttar Pradesh with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath saying in election rallies in west Uttar Pradesh that ‘In Muzaffarnagar and Kairanajinko garmi chadh gayi hai, dus March ke baad unki garmi utar di jayegi [those who are feeling emboldened in Kairana and Muzaffarnagar, they will be taken care of after March 10.]” In Hapur, he went on to say that he is known for creating the cold of Shimla in May and June. Later, referring to Samajwadi Party head Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Singh, Mr. Adityanath said, “Do ladke danga karane aaye hain [two boys have come to foment riots].”
The statement was interpreted in different ways. While BJP supporters said it was directed at criminal elements who have been given tickets by the alliance in west Uttar Pradesh, particularly Nahid Hasan in Kairana and Haji Yunus in Bulandshahr, Rashtriya Lok Dal supporters took the Chief Minister’s statement as disrespect to Jats.
In response, Mr. Jayant Singh said in Aligarh that “we are born hot and those who were trying to control them their charbi (fat) would be peeled off. RLD sources said it was a reaction to the Chief Minister’s objectionable statement.
On Wednesday, Mr. Akhilesh Yadav objected to the language of Mr. Adityananth. “This could not be the language of the Chief Minister of a State. The Election Commission should take note of it,” he said at a press conference in Shamli.
Observers said both the parties were trying to divert the attention of voters from real issues and in west Uttar Pradesh the tone tended to be aggressive.
A BJP leader from the Jat community said, “The Chief Minister’s statement was unwarranted as it could unite Jats in the region,” he said. However, a BKU leader said it would not affect the electoral equation because even a large section of Jats doesn’t support the criminal elements in the community. “They see it in context of the statements made by Nahid Hasan’s supporters where they said that if Jats won’t support Nahid in Kairana, Muslims won’t vote for RLD’s Prassan Chaudhary inneighbouring Shamli.”
