UP Election 2022: Stray cattle menace - How Big Bull has become the biggest Issue In Uttar Pradesh polls

Jinnah, Muslims, Hijab, Abba Jaan, 80 Vs 20...

You have heard all this numerous times amid the political heat in Uttar Pradesh.

You might think that these are the main election issues this season in India's biggest state.

Not really. While there may be a cacophony of divisive and charged issues to distract the voters, the biggest poll issue in UP, especially as voting moves eastwards, is the Big Bull.

Yes, stray cattle has emerged as one of the main issues.

And the BJP knows it. That's why even the Prime Minister had to acknowledge and address it at a recent rally in Unnao.

PM Modi promised a new policy to address “chhutta jaanvaron se pareshani (stray animal trouble)” after March 10, when the results of the ongoing polls are out.

Stray cattle menace in UP is the direct result of Yogi government's strict implementation of the slaughter ban on cow and its progeny.

Increasing attacks by cow vigilantes on cattle traders have meant that cattle trade has become risky and farmers are forced to let old and non-milking cattle loose on the roads.

Reports after reports have shown that farmers are at the receiving end of the stray cattle menace.

In a number of places they are forced to hold night vigils to save their crops from the "chhutta saand".

The stray cattle problem is acute in Eastern UP as the Western part of the state is more of buffalo belt, while East has more cows and its progeny.

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According to Centre's response in Lok Sabha in February, the stray cattle population in UP shot up from 10 lakh in 2012 to 12 lakh in 2019.

Yogi government's response to the crisis has been to build gaushalas and fund them. But clearly it has fallen way short as thousands of cattle have taken over streets and fields of Uttar Pradesh.

According to the UP govt, there are 5,664 gaushalas in the state that house nearly 7.8 lakh cows, which means there are at least 4 lakh stray cattle roaming loose in the state.

The Yogi government has ramped up spending on cattle massively - from 203 crore in 2019-20 to 424 crore in 2021-22.

These gaushalas are given Rs 30 per animal per day to feed the cattle and Rs 6,000 per month for labour charge.

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Several reports have shown that many of these gaushalas have come up in the last couple of months as BJP sensed anger over the cattle menace among the voters.

Will the holy cow prove to be a political headache for the BJP?

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