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MEERUT: Two days after two-time BJP MP from Muzaffarnagar Sanjeev Balyan lost the seat by over 24,000 votes, the party’s former MLA from Sardhana, Sangeet Som, broke his silence and washed off his hands from any role in the debacle.
Som said on Thursday: “I was in charge of Sardhana assembly constituency of Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha seat and we fared quite well there.He lost by a considerable margin in Budhana and Charthawal assembly constituencies of the LS seat. In my area (Sardhana), the difference in loss was 45 votes which is insignificant. I have no role in the defeat.”
Notably, a fierce war of words had been raging between Balyan and Som in weeks leading to the LS polls, so much so that CM Yogi Adityanath had to visit Sardhana to engineer a “truce”.
Local pollsters said that Thakur/Rajput agitation and maha panchayats against the party weeks before the polls were also considered to have hurt Balyan’s prospects. Thakurs were angry at BJP ignoring the community in ticket distribution. And, Som is a Thakur.
When asked whether Balyan’s defeat was an “act of vengeance”, Som said, “It is not true. I reiterate Sardhana voted for Balyan and Thakurs also voted one-sided for BJP.” Balyan is alleged to have played a role in Som’s defeat from Sardhana in the 2022 assembly polls.
Som appealed to the party’s ‘high command’ to “look into the real reasons for the defeat of the parliamentarian and fix responsibility.” He also issued a statement on Thursday, saying: “Patriotic Muslims always vote for BJP. But other Muslims always take advantage of the party schemes, but never vote for them…”
Muzaffarnagar LS seat comprises five assembly segments — Muzaffarnagar city, Budhana, Sardhana, Charthawal and Khatauli. Statistically, Balyan lost in all assembly constituencies except Muzaffarnagar city, while the minimum margin of defeat was in Sardhana.
According to experts, the main contributor to Balyan’s defeat was not Thakurs but Jats. “If we analyse the results of separate constituencies, Balyan lost in his home place in Budhana by almost 11,000 votes. Then Charthawal and Khatauli went in that direction, too. A large chunk of Jats did not vote for Balyan,” said Dr KK Sharma, a political analyst and HoD department of History, Chaudhary Charan Singh University.
Sharma added: “There are two reasons. Firstly, a section of Jats did not like RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary joining BJP. Secondly, Ajit Singh (Jayant’s father and then RLD chief) lost his last election from Muzaffarnagar in 2019. He had lost to Balyan by a little over 6,000 votes. And the members of the Jat community always resented that and hence that chunk this time voted for Harender Malik.”
(Inputs from Krishna Chaudhary)
Som said on Thursday: “I was in charge of Sardhana assembly constituency of Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha seat and we fared quite well there.He lost by a considerable margin in Budhana and Charthawal assembly constituencies of the LS seat. In my area (Sardhana), the difference in loss was 45 votes which is insignificant. I have no role in the defeat.”
Notably, a fierce war of words had been raging between Balyan and Som in weeks leading to the LS polls, so much so that CM Yogi Adityanath had to visit Sardhana to engineer a “truce”.
Local pollsters said that Thakur/Rajput agitation and maha panchayats against the party weeks before the polls were also considered to have hurt Balyan’s prospects. Thakurs were angry at BJP ignoring the community in ticket distribution. And, Som is a Thakur.
When asked whether Balyan’s defeat was an “act of vengeance”, Som said, “It is not true. I reiterate Sardhana voted for Balyan and Thakurs also voted one-sided for BJP.” Balyan is alleged to have played a role in Som’s defeat from Sardhana in the 2022 assembly polls.
Som appealed to the party’s ‘high command’ to “look into the real reasons for the defeat of the parliamentarian and fix responsibility.” He also issued a statement on Thursday, saying: “Patriotic Muslims always vote for BJP. But other Muslims always take advantage of the party schemes, but never vote for them…”
Muzaffarnagar LS seat comprises five assembly segments — Muzaffarnagar city, Budhana, Sardhana, Charthawal and Khatauli. Statistically, Balyan lost in all assembly constituencies except Muzaffarnagar city, while the minimum margin of defeat was in Sardhana.
According to experts, the main contributor to Balyan’s defeat was not Thakurs but Jats. “If we analyse the results of separate constituencies, Balyan lost in his home place in Budhana by almost 11,000 votes. Then Charthawal and Khatauli went in that direction, too. A large chunk of Jats did not vote for Balyan,” said Dr KK Sharma, a political analyst and HoD department of History, Chaudhary Charan Singh University.
Sharma added: “There are two reasons. Firstly, a section of Jats did not like RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary joining BJP. Secondly, Ajit Singh (Jayant’s father and then RLD chief) lost his last election from Muzaffarnagar in 2019. He had lost to Balyan by a little over 6,000 votes. And the members of the Jat community always resented that and hence that chunk this time voted for Harender Malik.”
(Inputs from Krishna Chaudhary)
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