Ahead of the first round of election in western Uttar Pradesh, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Singh visited the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) headquarters in Sisauli village of Muzaffarnagar on Sunday and paid tribute to Mahendra Singh Tikait.
After offering ghee (clarified butter) to the Amar Kisan Jyoti, he took the blessings of BKU president Naresh Tikait.
Mr. Singh tweeted the images and said he visited the farmer capital to take the blessing of baba [Mahendra Singh Tikait]. In the images, Mr. Naresh could be seen putting his hand on the head of Mr. Singh.
Observers said the visit had a political meaning as it has been been made to send a message to farmers that the BKU, which led the farmers’ agitation in western Uttar Pradesh, was in support of the RLD. Meanwhile in Meerut, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) held a press conference where it reiterated its appeal to vote against the BJP as part of its Mission UP campaign.
“The BJP once again wants to play Hindu-Muslim match in western Uttar Pradesh but farmers won’t allow the divide and rule policy of the party to succeed,” said Rakesh Tikait, national spokesperson of the BHU.
For a month, he said, the BJP was targeting one particular community. “It doesn’t go with the stature of the Chief Minister of a State. The public will not allow the old model of the BJP to work. They are ready to throw a bucket of water on the BJP’s plans,” he said.
This has come after Mr. Singh lodged a complaint with the police after a fake tweet was made wherein it was said that Mr. Singh was withdrawing the ticket of Baghpat candidate Ahmed Hameed because of the anti-Hindu stance of Mr. Hameed’s family.
SKM member Yogendra Yadav said the government had gone back on its promises to constitute a committee on MSP, withdraw the cases against farmers and to dismiss Cabinet Minister Ajay Mishra Teni.
Meanwhile, Sanjeev Balyan, the BJP’s Jat face in the region, is holding meetings with the Jat community where he is pitting himself as a common man who stood for Jat farmers after the Muzaffarnagar riots.
“When they [RLD] were trying to create bhaichara [brotherhood), I was fighting your cases. But perhaps, because he [Mr. Singh] comes from a big family and I am a son of an ordinary farmer, some of you are not listening to me,” he said.
