Churn in the Jat community: Farmers' stir may upset the BJP apple cart

With just a year to go for the UP elections, the wave of sympathy for the RLD could play spoiler for the BJP in western UP, which accounts for about a 4th of the Assembly constituencies in the state

“Jabra mare, rone bhi na de (the powerful beats and won’t let cry)” – that’s how Sushil Balyan, a farmer in a quaint Kutba-Kutbi village of western Uttar Pradesh, sees what the government’s response has been towards the farming community during the ongoing protests.

“Now, we’ll teach the government a lesson,” he says, adjusting himself on a cemented precast bench.

Sushil’s fierce attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attracts the attention of a group of five boys sitting on a verandah nearly 30 feet away. Joining the parley, Rajat Balyan, a 24-year-old BJP supporter, asks, “Fir in Musalmano ka