The Jats are primarily farmers and wield significant economic influence in the region because of their financial muscles. The extent of Jat influence on votes is evident from the 2009 polls, where a national party like the BJP secured only three seats in western UP while a relatively smaller party, RLD (then a minor partner of the NDA), won five seats due to unflinching support from the community.On the other hand, experts note that in the 2014 polls, which occurred in the aftermath of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, Jats were entirely polarised in favour of the BJP, resulting in a sweeping victory for the saffron party in the region.This trend continued even in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.However, alarm bells rang for the BJP in the 2022 Assembly polls when the Jats were divided between their loyalty to their leader Jayant, who was part of the SP coalition, and the BJP. And the farmer-dominant community drifted away from the BJP over the Union government’s controversial farm laws. Although the three farm laws were withdrawn before the polls, the damage was already done. The BJP’s loss translated into the RLD’s victory. It resulted in a sharp jump in RLD’s vote share, with the number of seats going up from one in 2017 to eight in 2022. It was no wonder that the BJP brass went ahead in an overdrive to lure Jayant, despite strong opposition from the party’s own Jat leaders.”The thinking was that with RLD by our side, whatever discontent among farmers is remaining would also go away, and Jats will have no dilemma over which camp to support,” said a senior BJP functionary. Their overall number may be small, but their concentration in the sugar belt makes them formidable in the western region. “Jats wield a lot of influence in society because of their dominant social status. Therefore, their firepower goes much beyond their own community,” added the BJP leader.



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