In Mathura, son keeps out Ajit Singh, invokes his grandfather

For a Jat-dominated constituency, Mathura is unusual. While it has elected several Jat MPs in the past, the first family of the Jat community in western Uttar Pradesh has never won from here. Now 30-year-old Jayant Singh, son of Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh and grandson of the late Chaudhary Charan Singh, is hoping to change that.

And he is doing it by keeping his father out of the picture. A

first-time candidate fielded by the RLD and backed by the BJP, Jayant invokes the name of his grandfather, the former Prime Minister, wherever he goes. And he may just be making a mark because Jats seem to be rallying behind him though they thank the UPA for waiving farmer loans.

Jayant hopes he won't suffer the fate of grandmother Gayatri Devi (Charan Singh's wife who lost from Mathura in 1984) and aunt Gyanvati Singh (Ajit Singh's sister who lost in 2004). Both went down to Manvendra Singh of the Congress who is back again for the Mathura seat where votes will be cast this Thursday.

"I am aware of this jinx, and it seems daunting. But here I am in the fray and confident of getting it right this time," Jayant told The Indian Express as he headed for a roadshow in Gokul.

His USP is the "magic" of Charan Singh's name. "Jayant came to our village felicitation function. Neither did he mention his father, nor did villagers take the name of his father. It was only Chaudhary Charan Singh," says Dalveer Singh of Amirpur in Gokul.

In Govardhan and Chhatta Assembly segments, it is the same story. "Ajit Singh's name will only antagonise the Jats because he is so unstable in his political

ALSO READ

'Outsider' tag in Cong may hurt new CM

After 17 days, rescuers find a survivor in Bangladesh building of a thousand dead

Cong secret ballot elects Siddaramaiah Karnataka CM

In Lahore, they wait to queue at booths today and vote for change