The entire belt worships Ajit Singh. Jayant Choudhary, Ajit Singh’s son, affcetionately referred to as Chotta Choudhary, is also climbing the popularity charts. People see in him a reflection of his grandfather. Chaprauli’s Randaur Singh, who introduces himself as a chairman-husband, says: “A child inherits from his grandfather as Jayant has, the same manner of talking, the seriousness in understanding issues related to us farmers”, he tapers off.
Senior counsel and former president of Baghpat’s Bar Association Vijay Pal Tomar adds: “People trust Jayant far more than they trust Ajit Singh.” But the picture is not perfect.
There are a few like Vinod, sitting outside Baghpat’s Jat Bhawan who says, “Who thinks about the poor? Had there been a factory there would have been employment.” He speaks softly, anxious not to be heard by Ajit Singh’s support base that neither criticises nor tolerates any criticism.
It’s the same fear that pervades Nagla, a village dominated by minorities who support the BSP. No names are given but men admit to have been forcibly stopped from voting. Some distance away at Sonauli village the Dalits are begining to find their voice. “Our polling station is different from that of the Jats, so we can vote freely,” says Devender, a postgraduate.
There is little to doubt that Ajit Singh is the most popular Jat leader in the region, but this popularity stems from his father’s achievements rather than his personal scorecard. Somendra Singh Daka, a senior advocate and Ajit Singh loyalist, says: “Like his father Ajit Singh has been a staunch opposer of the caste system. Despite being a Jat dominated constituency Baghpat’s district president is always a non-Jat. This has endeared him to other castes as well. ”
Charan Singh was a popular pan-Indian leader but in Western UP, he was God. For now the same mantle sits on Ajit Singh, an engineer from IIT Kharagpur who stayed in the US for 17 years working as a software professional, thrust into politics only after the death of his father in 1980. The 80s and 90s were the peak decades of the Ajit magic. It is waning of late. Sahib Singh, the SP contestant who fought against Ajit Singh, says all political parties are to blame for not forming an alternative to Ajit Singh. “In fact, whenever Singh is in a sticky spot, these parties come to his rescue,” he argues.
Clearly, Ajit Singh’s days of easy victories are over. In the last elections, he won his seat by a margin of two lakh votes. This time that dipped to about 62,000 and his party which had 14 MLAs to its credit in 2002, now only has 10 seats. It is probably time for the mantle to pass on.
Senior counsel and former president of Baghpat’s Bar Association Vijay Pal Tomar adds: “People trust Jayant far more than they trust Ajit Singh.” But the picture is not perfect.
There are a few like Vinod, sitting outside Baghpat’s Jat Bhawan who says, “Who thinks about the poor? Had there been a factory there would have been employment.” He speaks softly, anxious not to be heard by Ajit Singh’s support base that neither criticises nor tolerates any criticism.
It’s the same fear that pervades Nagla, a village dominated by minorities who support the BSP. No names are given but men admit to have been forcibly stopped from voting. Some distance away at Sonauli village the Dalits are begining to find their voice. “Our polling station is different from that of the Jats, so we can vote freely,” says Devender, a postgraduate.
There is little to doubt that Ajit Singh is the most popular Jat leader in the region, but this popularity stems from his father’s achievements rather than his personal scorecard. Somendra Singh Daka, a senior advocate and Ajit Singh loyalist, says: “Like his father Ajit Singh has been a staunch opposer of the caste system. Despite being a Jat dominated constituency Baghpat’s district president is always a non-Jat. This has endeared him to other castes as well. ”
Charan Singh was a popular pan-Indian leader but in Western UP, he was God. For now the same mantle sits on Ajit Singh, an engineer from IIT Kharagpur who stayed in the US for 17 years working as a software professional, thrust into politics only after the death of his father in 1980. The 80s and 90s were the peak decades of the Ajit magic. It is waning of late. Sahib Singh, the SP contestant who fought against Ajit Singh, says all political parties are to blame for not forming an alternative to Ajit Singh. “In fact, whenever Singh is in a sticky spot, these parties come to his rescue,” he argues.
Clearly, Ajit Singh’s days of easy victories are over. In the last elections, he won his seat by a margin of two lakh votes. This time that dipped to about 62,000 and his party which had 14 MLAs to its credit in 2002, now only has 10 seats. It is probably time for the mantle to pass on.
No comments:
Post a Comment