Statues come alive as poll season warms up in U.P.

With the Assembly elections less than a year away, statues of historical figures have once again become a catalyst for political mobilization among caste groups in Western Uttar Pradesh.

On Sunday, tensions rose in Sikauti, a small village in Sardhana Assembly constituency of Meerut district, when the local administration removed the ‘Jat’ tag from the statue of Maharaja Suraj Mal, which was to be unveiled at an event organized by Jat Sansad International.

The ruler of Bharatpur, seen as a symbol of Jat resistance against the Mughals in the 18th century, is presented as a Hindu king during the rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In June 2025, the UP government approved the celebration of ‘Agra Vijay Diwas’ at Agra Fort to commemorate Suraj Mal’s capture of the fort on 12 June 1761.

In September 2025, following the Supreme Court directive, the UP government banned caste-based rallies and public caste markers to curb symbolic politics. Opposition parties stated that the orders were not directly aimed at religious or Hindutva symbols.

The distinctive group, which brought together Jat heavyweights from different parties on a single stage, was led by former Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan, who has had a hot and cold relationship with the Yogi Adityanath-led administration since his defeat in Muzaffarnagar in the Lok Sabha elections. The event had Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as the chief guest and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party chief Hanuman Beniwal as the star speaker.

Introducing Mr Mann of the Aam Aadmi Party as the only Jat CM in the country, Mr Balyan took over and [Punjab] The CM would have otherwise launched a protest against the move to remove the Jat prefix (before Sansad) on the plaque. “After the discussion, the administration promised to put it back within 15 days. Otherwise, we will organize a big panchayat,” he said.

Interestingly, the event was held in Sardhana constituency, a stronghold of Sangeet Som, the Rajput face of the BJP, who is at loggerheads with Mr Balyan after losing the seat in 2022. In contrast, Mr. Balyan’s supporters pinned Mr. Som’s ‘Rajput panchayats’ as one of the reasons for their leader’s surprise defeat in 2024.

Sculpture ‘purification’

In a similar development, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav “purified” the statue of 9th century emperor Gurjar Mihir Bhoj with Ganga water during a rally in Dadri on Sunday. This gesture was a direct response to the debate over whether the king belonged to the Gurjar community or the Rajput community.