All the parties in the Uttar Pradesh election are focusing on the Kurmi vote bank

In Uttar Pradesh, all political parties are vying for the votes of the Kurmis, a major backward caste (OBCs). Because of the Kurmis' dominance, Kurmi leaders have played a prominent role in politics. It is also worth noting that the state has yet to appoint a chief minister from the Kurmi community. As is customary in Uttar Pradesh, politics has once again been concentrated on the OBCs. Among the OBCs, the Kurmi group has the second greatest population in the state after the Yadav. From the BJP to the SP, the BSP and the Congress are all vying for the support of the Kurmi population. At the same time, both Apna Dal groups cherish the fantasy of being kingmakers because of the Kurmi community, and Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) aspires to build a political footing in the state on the same grounds. Will the Kurmi voters, who have grown significantly for all parties in the UP elections, favor the most suitable candidates for their representation? This is a common question in the halls of power.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Kurmi population, identified by surnames such as Patel, Gangwar, Sachan, Katiyar, Niranjan, Chaudhary, and Verma, has around 6% of the vote. Kurmis are known as Gangwar and Verma in Ruhelkhand, and Patels, Katiyars, Niranjan, and Sachan in Kanpur-Bundelkhand. People from the Kurmi community are known as Verma, Chaudhary, and Patel in Awadh and western UP. Ram Pujan Verma, Ramswaroop Verma, Barkhuram Verma, Beni Prasad, and Sonelal Patel were regarded as pillars of Kurmi politics in Uttar Pradesh.

In UP, the Kurmi group accounts for 8% of the population, which is close to 35% of all OBC. UP has roughly a dozen assembly seats and 8 to 10 Lok Sabha seats, with the Kurmi community playing a significant role in both. The Kurmi community has an impact in all 25 districts of Uttar Pradesh. However, in 16 districts, more than 12% had political power. Kurmi people have the ability to construct and sabotage any political game from Purvanchal to Bundelkhand, and from Avadh to Ruhelkhand. The Bharatiya Janata Pati on the Kurmi Samaj is now in power.

In recent years, the BJP has maintained a tight grip on the Kurmi community. The SP has also done the significant groundwork to win Kurmi voters. The Congress is also sending Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel to UP on a regular basis to demonstrate how important the Kurmi voter is to him. When it comes to Kurmi leaders in the major parties, the Samajwadi Party has appointed Naresh Uttam as state president, while Swatantra Dev Singh represents the Kurmis in the BJP. The issue now is who's fleet the Kurmis will cross in the assembly elections.

Kurmi voters, on the other hand, have been courted by all parties since independence. The Kurmis formerly had a significant amount of power in Congress. Ram Pujan Patel was a major Congress politician in Prayagraj. He was elected to the legislature twice, in 1967 and 1970. Later that month, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi appointed him to the Rajya Sabha. He served as the parliamentary representative for the Phulpur seat four times. Later that year, he quit Congress and joined the SP in protest at the Mandal Commission report's implementation. The Mandal round steadily drained the Congress of its massive vote bank. Senior leader RPN Singh, who is now in charge of the Sainthwar Kurmis' heritage in Purvanchal, has also defected from the Congress and joined the BJP. Ruhelkhand and Bareilly are also regarded as important Kurmi political bases. The election is set for February 14. The Kurmis are ruled by Bareilly, Baheri, and Nawabganj to Pilibhit, whether it is Chetram Gangwar, Bhagwat Sharan Gangwar, or Santosh Kumar Gangwar. Chetram was a minister in the cabinet of Narayan Dutt Tiwari and Veer Bahadur Singh after winning the Nawabganj seat in Bareilly in 1967. In the last 52 years, Kurmi dominates the Nawabganj seat. This is why BJP's Dr. M.P. Bhagwant Sharan Gangwar, Congress' UG Gangwar, Minister of State for Revenue Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar, and BSP's Asram Gangwar are running in Baheri.