UP Cabinet boasts a class act

It seems to be sweet revenge for the Thakurs whose influence had steadily eroded over the decades after land reforms were initiated in the country after Independence. The Thakurs blamed the Brahmins for two specific laws which axed their clout to half — abolition of the Zamindari Act of 1948 and the Land Ceiling Act. Land redistribution brought in new entrants to the club — first the Jats and Yadavs and now the Lodhs and Kurmis.

Yadav’s government represents this new alliance of Thakurs, Jats and Kurmis — Ajit Singh’s RLD and Kalyan Singh’s RKD which have 14 and four MLAs respectively. It is a partnership which has successfully brought the land-owning classes to reassert their clout in state politics.

This formidable combination now constitute almost 24 per cent of the population, putting aside traditional contempt and animosity which existed between the Thakurs and the rest. So how does this new alliance look at the future? While the combination is formidable, it undeniably needs another ally, the Muslims, which constitute almost 13 per cent of the population, to get close to sniffing power on its own. Which is why it is crucial how Yadav responds to the political and legal crises emerging from the belligerent Hindutva forces. The community is watching him.