E-Paper
Raj Jats tricky for Cong
Congress' expectation that the Jat vote will return to its fold does not seem to be materialising.
The Congress' expectation that the Jat vote will return wholesale to its fold does not seem to be materialising as far as the fourth phase of the elections are concerned. Though there is some rethinking within the community, it isn't enough to give the BJP jitters as yet.
"About 20-25 per cent of the Jat electorate here is likely to go back to the Congress," said Mohan Lal Chaudhary, the Jat sarpanch of Mavli, a cluster of 45 villages in Udaipur.
Chaudhary voted for the BJP in the assembly polls and intends to do the same this time too. Amla Devi, a Jat and sarpanch of Dabok village, said much the same.
The shift in the Jat vote from the Congress to the INLD and the BJP in many constituencies was one of the major reasons for the party’s poor show in the assembly polls. Jats are present in Mavli and Rajsamamund assembly segments of Udaipur LS constituency, from where the Congress' Girija Vyas, a Brahmin, is seeking a fourth Lok Sabha term.
Vyas is banking on the consolidation of upper caste votes to challenge BJP candidate Kiran Maheshwari, a bania and a first timer. Brahmins and Rajputs dominate the constituency.
Neighbouring Chittorgarh has a much larger population of Jats, with about 1.50 lakh Jat voters.
The BJP has fielded its sitting MP Srichand Kriplani, a Sindhi, from here even though there are less than 5,000 voters of his community here. Rajputs and OBCs dominate this constituency.
The Congress is trying to dent the BJP's Rajput votebank by putting up first timer Vishwavijaya Singh, whose only claim to fame is that he is the son of former MP Nirmala Kumari, who represented Chittorgarh several years ago.
The move has unsettled the BJP to some extent, even though Kriplani is comfortably placed.
BJP workers are now going around villages seeking assurance from Rajput voters that they will not cross over to the Congress. "I took a vow from them that they will not shift their vote," said Leela Kalantri, former president of the BJP's women's wing in Chittorgarh, after visiting the Rajput dominated village of Ghatiavali.
If there is some discomfiture in the BJP, the Congress has its share of discontentment over the fact that a first timer has been given a ticket over the claims of more experienced aspirants.
Party workers also point to the dichotomy inherent in the situation. "If we get Rajput votes, we stand to lose the Jats' support,'' said a local leader as the two communities are at loggerheads.
