E-Paper
Rajasthan elections: Dilapidated school buildings, poor roads key poll issues in Kaman constituency
The constituency with 250 polling stations, comprises 254,516 voters, of which 141,498 are men and 123,018 women. At least 11,352 fresh voters in Kaman are also all set to cast their votes this election
BHARATPUR
At the heart of Rajasthan’s Mewat region, Kaman, sharing the border with neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, traces its roots to the medieval Bhakti movement as it is considered a part of Braja Bhumi, associated with Lord Krishna .
Kaman, which was earlier a part of Bharatpur, was later merged into the new Deeg district following the Ramlubhaya committee’s proposed delimitation that came into existence on August 4. However, since the election commission didn’t recognise the new districts yet, the constituency is considered under the Bharatpur district in the upcoming state assembly election due on November 25.
The constituency with 250 polling stations, comprises 254,516 voters, of which 141,498 are men and 123,018 women. At least 11,352 fresh voters in Kaman are also all set to cast their votes this election.
Kaman has a majority of around 100,000 Meo tribe people and 115,000 lakh Hindu voters.
Since independence, the Congress, who always fielded a Muslim candidate considering the significant population of Meos, won the seat in eight elections while the BJP also bagged it four times.
The incumbent Congress MLA and the state education minister, Zahida Khan, who was first fielded by the party in 2008 after the death of her father Chaudhary Tayyab Hussain, a two-time MLA, defeated Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Jawahar Singh Beadham with a margin of 21% votes.
Though the seat appeared to be a stronghold of the Congress till 1998 in consecutive polls, Kaman turned into a major switch seat since 2003 as it has always elected a candidate of the party forming the government in the state in every election.
While the Congress is planning to field Zahida once again for the upcoming state polls despite a major agitation by the party workers against her in Kaman and also in front of AICC in Delhi, the BJP is all set to field a candidate from the Vaishya community.
Such an old constituency is marred by poor road conditions and dilapidated school buildings.
A long-time resident, Vijay Mishra, said, “The government schools don’t have sufficient rooms, and buildings. But the government paid little attention to it.”
He added: “Kaman to Deeg road was constructed after a petition was filed in court. Kaman to Jurahra road was constructed by the order of the high court. However, many roads are yet to be repaired.”
Aanother resident, Raish Khan, seemed happy with the slew of developmental works that took place in the constituency in the last five years. “Better road connectivity among villages improved the life of rural areas. The networking of the canals also made the water supply for irrigation in the area easier.”
Responding to the ongoing protest against Zahida, a local party functionary Akbar Khan alleged: “The corruption is the main issue in the constituency. The MLA has been involved in illegal mining. All government employees as well as police officers take postings in her constituency after paying her money. We have urged Congress senior leaders in Delhi to not give her ticket.”
Commenting on the development of the area, MLA Khan said, “Our government has ensured execution of development works in Kaman. The water from the Gurgaon canal through many small canals was made available in villages for irrigation. Around 54 English medium schools, 2 girls’ residential colleges, and an agriculture college were also established.”
She added: “The medical facilities for the public, such as many primary health centres and community health centres, were also set up in the constituency. Damaged roads were also repaired regularly across the area.”
