AgenciesIn Katailiya village panchayat of Hathras that falls in Sikandra Rao constituency of the district, villagers have coined a slogan "gaaye aur bijaar, ho sakte hain BJP ki haar" (cows and bulls can spell the BJP's defeat). The slogan encapsulates the stray cattle menace that farmers have been facing across Uttar Pradesh.
Farmers have been complaining of stray cattle entering their fields and destroying crops and causing widespread distress, accidents, even deaths. According to the 2019 livestock census, there were nearly 1.16 million stray cattle in the state. Up till November last year, about 7,50,000 of them had been kept in shelters with government officials trying to rehabilitate the nearly 4,00,000 stray cattle by February.
The issue is not new but it can, to an extent, alter the voting patterns in some pockets. "The public thinks that if the SP comes to power, they will allow the shuttered slaughterhouses to reopen which will take care of the stray animals," Vineet Kumar, panchayat head of Katailiya in Hathras, said. However, talk of the issue came as an afterthought. The more burning issue seems to be the neglect by the current BJP MLA Birender Singh Rana towards the people. In this Thakur-dominated constituency, people of the community are upset with Rana for multiple reasons: for not being of much help to them and failing to interact with them. There is also resentment against him for not stepping up during the Hathras rape and murder incident to defend the accused who belonged to the Thakur caste. The Thakur community believes that the accused has been wrongly implicated.
Comparatively, the issue may influence votes more in reserved constituencies where, since all the candidates are SCs, caste considerations become weaker.
In Nagariya Vikram village panchayat in Faridpur, a reserved constituency in Bareilly, gram pradhan Yatendra Pal talks of the improved law and order situation and timely payment of cane dues to farmers. However, from the panchayat of 2,200 voters with about a hundred Muslims, there is a veritable shift towards the SP, he says.
"The free ration will most likely stop after March, but our sole livelihood of farming will continue to suffer. If out of 3 bighas, 2 bighas are lost to damage by stray animals, how can one manage," Pal said. The votes of non-SCs become crucial in reserved constituencies. The panchayat consists of Yadavs, Mauryas and Kashyaps among others. Yadavs, who had supported the BJP in 2017, will likely vote for the SP, says Pal. In Samuliya village panchayat under Powayan reserved constituency of Shahjahanpur, 50% of the public is supporting the current BJP government, said Ashish Kumar, the pradhan.
Farmers have been complaining of stray cattle entering their fields and destroying crops and causing widespread distress, accidents, even deaths. According to the 2019 livestock census, there were nearly 1.16 million stray cattle in the state. Up till November last year, about 7,50,000 of them had been kept in shelters with government officials trying to rehabilitate the nearly 4,00,000 stray cattle by February.
The issue is not new but it can, to an extent, alter the voting patterns in some pockets. "The public thinks that if the SP comes to power, they will allow the shuttered slaughterhouses to reopen which will take care of the stray animals," Vineet Kumar, panchayat head of Katailiya in Hathras, said. However, talk of the issue came as an afterthought. The more burning issue seems to be the neglect by the current BJP MLA Birender Singh Rana towards the people. In this Thakur-dominated constituency, people of the community are upset with Rana for multiple reasons: for not being of much help to them and failing to interact with them. There is also resentment against him for not stepping up during the Hathras rape and murder incident to defend the accused who belonged to the Thakur caste. The Thakur community believes that the accused has been wrongly implicated.
Comparatively, the issue may influence votes more in reserved constituencies where, since all the candidates are SCs, caste considerations become weaker.
In Nagariya Vikram village panchayat in Faridpur, a reserved constituency in Bareilly, gram pradhan Yatendra Pal talks of the improved law and order situation and timely payment of cane dues to farmers. However, from the panchayat of 2,200 voters with about a hundred Muslims, there is a veritable shift towards the SP, he says.
"The free ration will most likely stop after March, but our sole livelihood of farming will continue to suffer. If out of 3 bighas, 2 bighas are lost to damage by stray animals, how can one manage," Pal said. The votes of non-SCs become crucial in reserved constituencies. The panchayat consists of Yadavs, Mauryas and Kashyaps among others. Yadavs, who had supported the BJP in 2017, will likely vote for the SP, says Pal. In Samuliya village panchayat under Powayan reserved constituency of Shahjahanpur, 50% of the public is supporting the current BJP government, said Ashish Kumar, the pradhan.
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