UP polls 2017: Members of the Jat community say that the BJP ignored them after 2014 elections.

Highlights Western Uttar Pradesh voted today for 73 seats

Jats form 17 per cent population in some parts

Say they are angry with BJP, who they backed in 2014

The first phase of voting for crucial state elections in Uttar Pradesh is underway today.

It's been a busy day for Vinod Rathi. He had a single-point agenda on Uttar Pradesh's first day of voting : as a member of the Jat Sabha, to go to as many homes as possible and get the community to vote. The Jats, who form 17 per cent of voters in areas like this one, abandoned their traditional choice, Ajit Singh and his Rashtriya Lok Dal , to vote in the general election for Narendra Modi. This time, they vow they will do their bit to ensure it will be a non-BJP government in Uttar Pradesh."We are confident that we will defeat the Narendra Modi government. From Delhi border to Mathura, Agra - in the entire Jat belt they are finished."Mr Rathi's threats aren't just rhetorical. The community has been holding Jat gatherings to spread the message against the BJP, which they oppose for failing to include them in reservation police s that would entitle them to a share of government jobs and places in educational institutions."They promised us that we would get reservation, but as soon as they came to power, they turned their back on us," said another Jat Sabha member Toran Singh. All day, he and other associates divided various booths to spread the word.

Jat leaders in Greater Noida, barely an hour's drive from Delhi say that they expect the community to support either Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal or Mayawati, whose Bahujan Samaj Party has traditionally not been favoured because of its Dalit standing.The BJP is playing down the threat but MP Manoj Tiwari acknowledged there is a problem while stating, "The PM is very sympathetic to their needs but we are trying to resolve their issues."