West U.P. is warming up for a tight contest this winter

Cracks in Jat-Muslim unity pose hurdles for RLD-SP alliance

As the process of filing nominations for the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh election comes to a close, the battle for western Uttar Pradesh has begun.

Riding on the perceived Jat-Muslim unity after the farmers’ agitation and the Bahujan Samaj Party’sindifference, the Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance is hoping to seize control of the region where the Bharatiya Janata Party won a whopping 53 out of the 58 seats in 2017.On average, Jats and Muslims constitute between 30% to 50% of the electorate in these seats.The SP hasleft 33seats for the RLD in the first round, out of which on five seats, SP candidates are contesting on the hand pump symbol. While the alliance has picked 10 Jat candidates, the BJP has opted for 12. Eleven Muslim candidates are also in the fray under the SP-RLD alliance.

However, after the ticket distribution, the fissures among Jats and Muslims that helped the BJP win after the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013 came out in the open.