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Rajasthan elections: Water crisis and shortage of teachers among key issues in Bhopalgarh
The seat has remained a Congress stronghold as the party has won eight state assembly polls from the seat since 1967 while the Bharatiya Janata Party bagged it twice
The Bhopalgarh constituency in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan once considered the stronghold of Jat leaders, after delimitation in 2008, was later reserved for Scheduled Castes.
With 286 polling stations, Bhopalgarh boasts a voter base of 302,215, comprising 158,202 male and 144,013 female voters. Around 9,656 fresh voters are all set to cast their ballot in the upcoming state assembly election due on November 25, for which the counting will be held on December 3 .
Against a desert backdrop of western Rajasthan with almost similar distance from both Jodhpur city and Nagaur, Bhopalgarh flaunts a centuries-old Shimbheshwar pond as the main attraction of the city. Needless to say, the area has its own set of civic issues from power shortage to lack of teaching staff in educational institutes.
Since Bhopalgarh is traditionally considered a Jat-dominated constituency, its reserved status shifted the focus to securing the support of Jat voters as the primary criterion for electing the MLA, according to the political experts. After the Jats, the vote base from the Meghwal and Rajput communities plays a pivotal role politically in this constituency, according to experts.
The seat has remained a Congress stronghold as the party has won eight state assembly polls from the seat since 1967 while the Bharatiya Janata Party bagged it twice. Other parties such as Lok Dal and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party have won the seat once each in 1985 and 2018, respectively.
Of Congress’s eight wins, the Jat leaders from the Maderna family bagged the seat six times with Parasaram Maderna being MLA from Bhopalgarh five times and his son Mahipal Maderna once.
Meanwhile, in the last assembly polls in 2018, Jat leader Hanuman Beniwal’s RLP managed to push both major parties — the Congress and the BJP — into second and third spots, making their candidate Pukhraj Garg the winner. Garg defeated Congress candidate Bhanwar Balai by 4,952 votes, with BJP’s Kamsa Meghwal finishing third.
This time, the Congress has nominated Geeta Barwar, daughter of Narpat Ram Barwar, a former minister in the Congress government. BJP, on the other hand, has given another opportunity to Kamsa Meghwal, who previously served as the MLA in 2008 and 2013. The current MLA, Garg, is the RLP candidate.
Despite being one of the politically relevant constituencies, the area is marred by multiple civic issues such as severe drinking water crisis, inadequate power supply for farmers, and a shortage of teachers in schools and colleges.
Talking about the issues in the area, Bhopalgarh resident Asudan Saransaid, “The Bhopalgarh constituency has three colleges, however, there is a shortage of teachers.“Many villages still face a significant water crisis,” he added.
Another resident Rameshwar Gehlot added: “The farmers encounter multiple problems during the Rabi season due to insufficient power supply, and deficiencies in basic facilities.”
Accusing Garg for the piling civic issues and lack of development, Congress leader Arun Balai, whose father late Bhanwar Balai fought elections on a party ticket in 2018, said that the MLA claimed “undeserved credits”. “All the developments in the area have been possible with the efforts of our chief minister Ashok Gehlot. Neither the MLA made any development in the area nor does he deserves to take any credit for the CM’s work.”
Refusing the allegations, the RLP MLA, however, considered his five-year tenure a “success”, citing the acceptance of most of their demands.
“A sub-tehsil and a college in Asop were established — which the local residents have been demanding from a long time. I have also ensured construction of new classrooms in numerous schools. Approximately 300km road was laid during my tenure. Also, an agricultural mandi and a district-level hospital was introduced in the constituency,” said Garg.
He also said that he did put in efforts to establish the executive engineering division of the public works department in Bhopalgarh, although it was ultimately set up in Pipar.
According to political observer Sunil Chaudhary, the crucial factor in Bhopalgarh is the Jat vote bank. “The influence of RLP leader Hanuman Beniwal is undeniable. It’s equally vital for the Congress to consider their election management, which could aid in mobilising the Jat vote bank. Additionally, BJP candidate Kamsa, having served as an MLA twice, brings election experience to the campaign.”
