Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh University in Aligarh: PM Modi visit to bolster BJP’s efforts to woo Jats

LUCKNOW: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Aligarh on Tuesday will be crucial for BJP’s Jat outreach and the state government’s development pitch in the run up to the assembly elections.
According to sources, the PM is expected to announce courses related to defence studies and training at the university as it would help students from the region to get absorbed in units being set up in Defence Corridor between Chitrakoot and Aligarh, extending to Bulandshahar in the west and Lucknow in central UP.
The PM’s address is likely to focus on the Jat king and his contribution to the region, said experts.
The PM’s visit comes at a time when the opposition and farmers’ unions are trying to win over the Jats who form a sizeable population in the region.
Jat dominance in UP is seen till Mathura though Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh had contested the Lok Sabha election from Mathura in 1957 defeating Jan Sangh candidate and former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, an alumnus of the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College, which later became Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), had given 3.04 acre land to the university on lease for the construction of a school in 1929. He donated land to various educational institutions, including AMU.

Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh (ANI Photo)
Experts believe that the idea behind setting up of the Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh University could be to create another centre of education parallel to Aligarh Muslim University, a centrally-administered institution.
During his 2017 election campaign, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said, “Mahendra Pratap Singh had given land for the purpose of establishing the university but his name has not been mentioned on any plaque.”
He had also promised to set up another university in the name of the Jat leader.
The region is crucial for the BJP as it has always been at the centrestage due to its vocal and dominant Jat community.
After the Muzaffarnagar riots, Jats shifted loyalty towards the BJP giving it an upper hand in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and in 2017 assembly election after pre-poll cajoling of the community. However, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Jats showed some disenchantment giving the BJP sleepless nights and last-minute political manoeuvring.
Preparations under way ahead of PM Modi's visit to lay the foundation stone of the Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh University
Ahead of the UP assembly elections, the BJP once again wants to win back Jats at a time when the Bharatiya Kisan Union, led by a Jat leader Rakesh Tikait, is trying to leave an impact on the community by raking up farmers’ issues.
The BJP think-tank, however, believes that the PM’s speech around the Jat king would help the party in its outreach plan.
On the development front, the PM is expected to inaugurate the Aligarh node of the defence corridor as several companies have signed agreements to set up their units.