UP riots pushing jats towards BJP?

MUZAFFARNAGAR (Western UP): The Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid churn couldn't shake the jats' loyalty to Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal. Equally, the Muslims remained steadfast in their support for Mulayam Singh Yadav all these years. But this time around, these strong support bases appear to be developing cracks.

While SP, the ruling party in UP, is being blamed by Muslims for failing to protect them and, in some cases, for a collusive role in fomenting riots, the jats seem to be going with other Hindus and are looking up to BJP's Narendra Modi as their saviour from the state government's "misrule".

Needless to say, these fresh pulls could have a deep impact in the coming Lok Sabha election. It is clear that the riots have benefitted the BJP the most. It is also clear that the losers are Samajwadi Party and RLD.

In villages across Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts, the common refrain among a substantial section of Hindus is, "Modi lao, desh bachao." Even RLD and Congress workers are singing paeans in praise of Modi while spewing venom against the Muslims and parties that "favour" them.

The riots in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli are bearing out what has often been said of Modi: that his is a polarizing presence.

A young Muslim IPS officer, who was tainted as communal and partisan, was transferred out after a sustained campaign. "He was targeted because he belongs to a particular community. I have known him to be neutral," said a senior IPS officer of UP. Similar views about the young officer were echoed by several officials as well as by government doctors.

Seeds of mistrust are fast fraying the chord that united the jats and the Muslims, a potent electoral combine, for decades. Provocative speeches from a series of panchayat meets, sustained campaigns about SP's minority appeasement policies, and painting the Muslims as "undesirable elements", have steadily chiseled away this joint plank.

The Muslims have been worst hit in the current riots, admitted a senior police officer. "Riots were never so bad in this region. Never have riots forced hundreds of Muslims to flee their homes and live in refugee camps. It seems like India-Pakistan in the villages," said a senior UP official.

Bijender Singh Malik, pradhan of Muzaffarnagar's Kharar village, saved 150 Muslims from rioters and gave them shelter in his house. Malik, a jat, is an avowed RLD supporter and has also voted for SP. He conceded that BJP never could make any headway in this region, not even during the Babri Masjid phase. But, he too, like almost all the Hindus of Kharar and neighbouring Fugana, has decided to vote for Modi.

His views find strong resonance throughout the riot-hit region. Though government records prove beyond doubt that Muslims were the worst hit and that most killed in the riots are Muslims, the plight of the community doesn't appear to evoke sympathy among the Hindus. And that's a bigger wound that won't heal easily.