In Syana, ‘missing’ BJP MLA opens window of hope for SP-RLD combine

This year, Khan is pitted against Lodhi again, but as the SP-RLD combine candidate. And with the protests in Maakdi, the BJP MLA might not have it easy at all.

Welcoming people into Maakdi, a sleepy town, is a large gate with white crumbling plaster. Barely a few meters inside, the road disappears for a thin path of potholes filled with water and mud. Flanked by mango orchards and potato farms, the route soon leads to the main area of the village, where Baljeet Chaudhary sits in the winter sun, watching his buffaloes graze.

“There was a reason why everyone was angry with Devendra Lodhi. If anyone does a quick survey in the constituency, they will tell you that he never visits the region. A local representative should ideally visit the village on occasions of celebration or mourning. If nothing, just to listen to people’s grievances. But he never did. They also know that people ultimately vote for Modi or Yogi so it doesn’t matter if they have to work or not,” he says.

Another villager, Dharmveer, 72, nods in agreement, but blames all governments, the past ones included, for falling short in terms of performance. Although he isn’t writing off the BJP completely, at least yet, Dharmveer says anger against the local MLA will manifest in some way.

Besides Maakdi, Lodhi faced similar protests in villages such as Ratanpur, Longa, Kisaula and Bharana, people angry every where, the same complaint everywhere – poor performance.

Braj Mohan Tyagi, a local, says the villages where Lodhi had to face people’s ire are not predominantly Jat and have mixed populations. “This means there is a general anger against Lodhi. The popularity of RLD has increased in the last few months and it is likely that people will look for alternative options,” he says.

For the SP-RLD’s Khan, it is RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary’s “efforts during the farmer protests” and the schemes announced by the alliance that will bear fruit in Syana. “I am a third generation politician, and when I lost (in 2017), I thought people have faith in Lodhi. But over the next five years, he did not do anything for his constituency, and as a result there is mass protest. I live among the people and there is a lot of support for our leader Jayant Chaudhary. From farmers to backward classes, people across caste lines want to give us the mandate. On 10th, it will be evident,” he told The Indian Express.

Lodhi was not available for comment. But, while the anger against him means an opportunity for the SP-RLD combine to grab Syana, BJP supporters are still optimistic – the reason, Yogesh Raj, a much revered local leader.

Raj, a key factor in Syana’s political equation, is currently lodged in the district jail. He is one of the main accused in the December 2018 riots, which led to the murder of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh. Raj won the panchayat elections in Naya Bans last year and had even applied as an Independent candidate for the coming polls before the Election Commission rejected his nomination as his bail had been canceled by the Supreme Court recently.

Many locals believe had Raj stood in the elections he would have won. And that since Raj, who openly supported the BJP and was also a member of the Bajrang Dal, is in jail, now a large number of Syana voters will likely gravitate towards the BJP, and Lodhi.

“A cow had been slaughtered and he had just gone there to protest that day. He was wrongly implicated. The truth is he is a youth leader and immensely popular,” says Kapil Kumar, a Naya Bans resident.

“People wanted him to fight but his ticket was not accepted. In fact there was anger as he did not get a BJP ticket since he had done so much. But now that he is in jail, people will want to repeat the BJP candidate because he (Raj) would have pledged support to the party anyway.”