Jats upset with Hoodas for isolating their community in Haryana

Rohtak: A majority of Jats are upset with former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his son Deepender for isolating their community from others in the state.

Citing the polarisation of votes in the just-concluded assembly elections on community lines, a number of them blamed Hoodas for making these polls a battle between Jats and non-Jats.

Some of these Jats were heard complaining that Hoodas have majorly pitched their community against 35 other castes in Haryana only for political reasons but even then failed to secure any electoral dividend.

This correspondent visited several Jat-dominated areas in Haryana to gauge the political mood after the elections.

In many villages of Rohtak, several Jats were angry with Hoodas for antagonising all other castes and islaoting their community.

NewsDrum visited some tea stalls in these Jat-dominated villages in the morning and found a sense of anger among the Jats there. They were heard saying that Jats never ever had any enmity with other castes but because of the Hoodas the state is heavily polarised. All the remaining 35 castes have consolidated against the Jats in the entire state.

"We have literally been rendered untouchables. There was never any animosity between Jats and non-Jats, We all lived harmoniously and took care of each other in adverse times," said Dharambir Singh at Bohar village.         

Many defeated Congress candidates too blamed Hoodas for consolidation of non-Jats against the grand old party. "Both the father and son deliberately held their election meetings in Jat areas thus forcing non-Jats to move away from the Congress," said a candidate whose constituency falls under the vicinity of the Grand Trunk Road or popularly known as GT Road.

The BJP's victory in Haryana despite ten years of strong anti-incumbency is widely attributed to the consolidation of non-Jats in its favour. The saffron party successfully crafted its social engineering strategy that dealt a severe blow to the Congress.