With Subhash Barala’s RS nomination, BJP looks to woo Jats, farmers

Pradeep Sharma

Chandigarh, February 15

Even as former state BJP chief and Jat leader Subhash Barala, who filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha (RS) seat today, is set to enter the Upper House unopposed, the saffron party is trying to woo the influential Jat community in the run-up to the 2024 parliamentary and Assembly elections.

In fact, the nomination of Barala — a close confidant of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar — for the RS seat is seen as a smart move by the party to please the Jats, who constitute a significant part of the farming community, in the backdrop of the ongoing farmers’ agitation in support of their demands.

BJP safeguarding Jats, farmers’ interests

The BJP-led governments at the centre and state levels have launched several pro-farmer initiatives over the last nine years. The nomination of Subhash Barala for the Rajya Sabha seat shows that the governments are at the forefront of safeguarding the interests of Jats and farming communities. —A senior BJP functionary

“The BJP-led governments at the centre and state levels have launched several pro-farmer initiatives over the last nine years. The nomination of Subhash Barala for the RS seat shows that the governments are at the forefront of safeguarding the interests of the Jats and farming communities,” a senior BJP functionary told The Tribune today.

According to party sources, the BJP already had a large vote bank among the non-Jat and urban voters. Barala’s election will send right signal to the Jats, who were never the vote bank of the party, in the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, the sources said.

Meanwhile, Barala’s choice also showed that Khattar called the shots in the state politics.

After choosing another close confidant Nayab Singh Saini as the state BJP chief, Khattar has sent a clear message to his detractors within and outside the state that his writ ran large in the state.

With Barala being the only candidate for the lone seat, he would be declared elected in the Upper House seat unopposed on February 20 — the last date of withdrawal of candidature. The RS seat is falling vacant on April 2 after the six-year term of incumbent BJP Member of Parliament Lt General DP Vats (retd) comes to an end.