Baby Rani invokes ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ as ascendancy buzz grows about UP BJP Jatav face

Maurya, 65, has been associated with the saffron party for three decades. In 1995, she was elected as Agra’s first woman mayor on the BJP’s ticket. She went on to work under then BJP leader Ram Nath Kovind in the party’s SC wing. She became a member of the UP Social Welfare Board and also served as a National Commission For Women (NCW) member.

Her elevation in the BJP dispensation continued as she was appointed the Uttarakhand governor in 2018. And days after her resignation from this position in September last year, she was appointed the BJP national vice president.

Maurya is from the Dalit community’s dominant Jatav sub-caste, to which BSP supremo Mayawati also belongs. Seeking to wrest the SC votes, especially Jatav votes, from the BSP, the BJP has projected Maurya as its Jatav face in its campaign for the upcoming UP Assembly elections. She had contested from Etmadpur in the 2007 polls but lost to a BSP candidate though.

“I was governor for a brief period, but I have been active on the ground since the beginning. I became the Agra mayor and have been working for people since then. The BJP is dedicated to the cause of Dalits and other backward sections. Our slogan ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ represents this idea. I am confident people here will repose their faith in us,” said Maurya.

Her supporters and campaign workers feel the BJP has “bigger plans” for her. They believe that she might be appointed the Deputy Chief Minister if the party retains power. Such a buzz around her has attracted people from other parties to her camp.

Kali Charan Suman, the ex-BSP MLA and runner-up from Agra Rural in the 2017 polls, is actively campaigning for her. “We have no doubt that Baby Rani will emerge as the winner… She is one of us and has always worked for the community. We hope to see her as the next Deputy CM. It is our sankalp (resolve) to see her victorious,” he said.

However, the loyalties of this belt’s Dalit residents seem to be divided between the BSP and the BJP, as they point out that for them this election will also be about their identity, security and future. The BJP has been seeking to convince them that they should vote for a party that will form government. But they are still not ready to leave the BSP.

“A party might provide us shade like a tree, but our roots are with Mayawati. She gave us an identity and we find ourselves linked to her in many ways. We got a lot of ration during Covid wave and it is possible that the BJP might also have good policies in future. But this is a decision we will have to think about. Whatever one might say of Mayawati, for us Jatavs, she is more than a politician,” said Bhagwanti, a resident of Brahm Nagar.

The BSP has pitted a local leader Kiran Kesri against Maurya, while the SP-RLD alliance has fielded Mahesh Kumar Jatav here. With Mayawati kicking off the BSP’s UP campaign from Agra, winning this seat has become a matter of prestige for the party.

The Opposition parties’ campaign has targeted the BJP over the 2020 Hathras incident, in which a Dalit woman was gangraped and murdered, and other issues.

Maurya, however, said, “No one talks about Dalit atrocities in Rajasthan. We are committed to making UP a safe place for Dalits. In the Hathras case, action was taken against the accused and rule of law prevailed. Both CM Yogi and PM Modi have transformed this state as criminals have not been given any free hand. The sense of security will continue.”