A mahapanchayat of the Rajput community held in Kheda village under the Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha constituency on Tuesday declared its decision to “boycott BJP candidates” in the first phase of general elections in Uttar Pradesh in protest against “non-implementation of government schemes, rise in unemployment, Agniveer Scheme and insult of the Rajput Samaj”. The boycott call, however, did not apply to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who, the community leaders, said was their voice which was “not being heard by central BJP leadership”. During the mahapanchayat, which was organised by “chaubisi” — a conglomerate of 24 villages falling under Siwal Khas (Baghpat), Sardhana (Meerut) and Khatauli (Muzaffarnagar) Assembly seats symbolising Rajput power — community leaders “pledged their support” for SP candidate Harendra Malik in Muzaffarnagar. In other Lok Sabha seats in the region, they said “they will vote for the candidate who is in a position to defeat the BJP”. Referring to two former Prime Ministers — V P Singh and Chandra Shekhar from the Rajput community — the leaders asked why they have …