“The Intra-Party Feud That Could Cost BJP Western Uttar Pradesh In 2027”, Swarajya, March 31, 2026
“Sanjeev Balyan is former Union Minister, two-time MP from Muzaffarnagar, and the pre-eminent Jat face of Modi 1.0 and 2.0 governments. At a Jat community conference in Sakauti in western Uttar Pradesh recently, Balyan said: “I will not let the insult that happened to me be forgotten. Even if you forget it, I will keep reminding you, and if I ever forget it, you keep reminding me.”
The audience was a Jat sammelan (conference). The target, unmistakably, was Sangeet Som — former BJP MLA from Sardhana (Assembly seat in western UP), Rajput strongman of the Meerut-Muzaffarnagar belt, and Balyan’s principal adversary within the BJP’s western Uttar Pradesh structure. (The Sakauti event also saw participation of Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and sharp rhetoric meant to agitate community sentiments from Rajasthan-based Jat leader, Hanuman Beniwal).
The BJP has tried to manage the Balyan-Som rivalry before. Yogi Adityanath has convened meetings. Central leadership received letters. Amit Shah was written to. Yet, the feud is now in its fourth year of active public life, having survived a state election, a Lok Sabha election, a mediation attempt by the Chief Minister, and a ₹10 crore defamation notice……”
Read full article at swarajyamag.com
