Govt gearing up for reservations for Jats in central jobs

The central government is taking steps to make reservation for Jats in central jobs a reality soon.

Sources said that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) could concede to the long pending demands from its own party leaders as well as ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)'s Ajit Singh to give quotas to the Jat community in central jobs. The community has been demanding reservation within the existing 27 per cent quota reserved for other backward classes (OBCs) in central government employment.

However, the timing of this move could prove problematic as the Code of Conduct in view of the upcoming Assembly polls is likely to kick in from September 22.

Moreover, there is a significant Jat population in the poll-going states of Rajasthan and Delhi. The government's move to get its policy in place before this could be tricky.

Such a move, say sources, however could prove to be a windfall for parties like the RLD, whose main votebank is entrenched within the community.

In the present circumstances in Uttar Pradesh for instance, which is witnessing large scale polarisation, Jats are inching closer to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which till now, had negligible presence in areas like western UP. Such a policy decision could help in bringing back the Jat vote to parties like the RLD.

At the same time, parties like the Samajwadi Party with its Yadav votebank would predictably protest this move as it would cut into their quota within the 27 per cent OBCs. The UPA would have a trying time, attempting to placate its ally SP which renders outside support.

Significantly, Ajit Singh in July this year, while addressing the national convention of the All India Jat Mahasabha, exhorted the community members from across the country to converge in Delhi. "No government would then have the guts to ignore our demand, especially with elections coming up," he had warned.

States like Rajasthan and Delhi already provide reservation for Jats in state government jobs. On several occasions, Haryana Chief Minister Bhoopinder Singh Hooda, has gone public with his appeal to the Centre to ensure reservation. Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is the newly appointed chief of the All India Jat Mahasabha and had also reiterated the demand for reservation.