Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Union Minister of State for Animal Husbandry Dr. Sanjeev Balyan raked up the contentious issue of a separate state of Western Uttar Pradesh.

The issue could put another controversial matter of Jat reservations on the back burner.

However, the minister made it clear that it was his personal opinion that Western Uttar Pradesh should be a separate state.

The issue was raised at the International Jat Parliament recently with Dr. Sanjeev Baliyan raising the demand for carving West UP into a separate state with Meerut as its capital.  Political observers believe that the statement of the minister was a way to counter the longstanding demand for reservations for the Jats.

They believe that Dr. Sanjeev Balyan faces a challenge to retain Jat support while RLD President Jayant Chaudhary is making a comeback by strengthening his legacy. All these points to efforts made to get the votes of Jats in their favour by both the Jat Leaders and Jayant Chaudhary camp fanning the issue of Jat reservations.

Dr. Sanjeev Balyan tried to skip the issue of reservations by raking up the issue of a separate state.

It is believed that the SP does not want a separate state. If the issue is being raised openly by Jayant in the present scenario, its sole purpose seems to make Akhilesh Yadav uncomfortable. The entire game is related to power politics.

Talking to the media, Dr. Sanjeev Balyan said a separate state was his personal opinion while the public has also been demanding this for many years. “If the entire society comes forward with the demand, I am with them because we have neither AIIMS nor do we have IIT here. There is no high court bench either. For justice, education and medical care, a separate state is a necessity. It will lead to further development of the area,” he added.

On the other hand, the All India Jat Mahasabha announced a big conference to be held in Aligarh, Agra and Bijnor to garner support for the Jat reservations.

State President of All India Jat Mahasabha Pratap Chaudhary said a conference would be held regarding the demand for Jat reservation in central services. It will be held in Bijnor on October 15, Aligarh on October 25 and Agra on October 27.

He said people from many states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi, will participate in all three districts including Bijnor. After this, a national convention will be held on November 20 at Talkatora Stadium in Delhi.