Lucknow: All eyes are on West UP regarding the Lok Sabha elections. This time, due to the changed political equation, the election issues have also changed. There is no buzz this time on issues like establishment of High Court bench, Jat reservation, formation of Western Pradesh and sugarcane price. BJP, SP and BSP have kept distance from these issues, while Rashtriya Lok Dal, which once strengthened the political ground in West UP on this issue, is also in a state of silence.
Demand for Jat reservation has been raised many times
The demand for Jat reservation in central jobs and admission in centrally run educational institutions began in 2006. The UPA government had included Jats of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh in the central list of OBCs through a notification issued on March 4, 2014, which was later rejected by the Supreme Court.
Chaudhary Charan Singh had raised the slogan of Harit Pradesh
For the first time in 1953, Chaudhary Charan Singh had demanded from the State Reorganization Commission to make West UP a separate state. In 1978, a proposal to make West UP a separate state was placed in the Assembly. Chaudhary Ajit Singh took this promise to Parliament. This time RLD is silent due to alliance with BJP.
Sugarcane farmers are believed to be in control of 27 seats in Western Uttar Pradesh. Sugarcane prices and late payments by sugar mills are big issues for the voters here. Dues of sugarcane farmers was a big issue in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. RLD has been making the support price of sugarcane an issue in every election. But this time it is not being discussed.
Establishment of High Court bench was the main election issue of West
The demand for a High Court bench was raised by the National Conference advocates in 1956. In 1976, Narayan Dutt Tiwari’s government passed a proposal to establish a bench. In 1986, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had also raised the demand in Parliament. Mayawati had also sent a proposal demanding establishment of a division bench.
The contaminated water of Kali River is wreaking havoc in the lives of about 2.5 lakh people of 80 villages of Muzaffarnagar and Meerut districts. MP Rajendra Aggarwal raised the issue several times. Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Laxmikant Vajpayee tried to clarify this. This campaign could not become a mass movement and the black river is waiting for the day to break.
