Baghpat

With 16 lakh voters, the Baghpat constituency in Western UP witnessed a tight contest in 2019 between the BJP and the RLD. The BJP’s Satyapal Singh ultimately won the seat with a vote share of 50% and a narrow margin of 23000 votes against runner up RLD. This time, NDA member RLD has fielded senior leader Dr Raj Kumar Sagwan from Baghpat. The BJP-RLD alliance is expected to sail through with ease owing to the fact that these two are the largest parties in the seat while the BSP and SP contest alone and may not witness a favourable degree of voter consolidation. The Muslim vote bank comprises 29% of the total voter population here. Jats and Gurjars also forma considerable chunk of the Hindu population in the seat. Of the five assembly segments in the constituency, three are held by BJP while two are held by RLD indicating that the NDA has an absolute stronghold over Baghpat.<br><br>Baghpat is a largely rural seat with 74% of the population in rural areas. Farmers’ issues are the most dominant election issues followed by communal and caste polarisation. The seat shares a border with Delhi and Haryana played a major role in the farmers’ protests. Dissatisfaction about sugarcane prices is evident here. Sand mining in the Yamuna riverbed by residents of Haryana has also been a contentious issue leading to clashes with farmers in the region. In fact, land disputes spring up along the border here as the Yamuna river changes course post monsoon leading to arguments and violent clashes between farmers on both sides.