As campaigning drew to a close yesterday, ministers and party leaders went into a huddled with Jat leaders in Meerut in a last-ditch attempt to convince them to vote for the BJP. The Jat leaders were told that only the BJP could ensure the welfare of the community, not the Samajwadi Party-Congress combine or Mayawati's BSP. The BJP told the Jat leaders that the other parties were more concerned about "Muslim appeasement", sources said. They only serve the interests of the minority community," a source quoted the BJP leaders as saying at yesterday's meeting. The community leaders were reminded that the BJP had the highest number of Jat MPs - 17 - of which four were Union ministers.

Source: The Telegraph February 10, 2017 22:01 UTC