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Lok Sabha elections 2019: BJP, Congress campaigners eye caste groups to ensure win
The BJP has invited Union home minister Rajnath Singh to hold a rally in Bhondsi, a Rajput-dominated area, on Wednesday, in the hope that his presence will help the party reach out to more voters.
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As election day nears, both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have invited their star campaigners to hold election rallies in different assembly constituencies on Wednesday to reach out to voters in different communities.
The BJP has invited Union home minister Rajnath Singh to hold a rally in Bhondsi, a Rajput-dominated area, on Wednesday, in the hope that his presence will help the party reach out to more voters. A party leader said that Singh had addressed an election rally in Bhondsi in 2014 Lok Sabha polls and it had worked quite well. “The home minister will reach Bhondsi around 10am. Preparations are in full swing for the rally,” a party leader said.
The Gurgaon Lok Sabha comprises nine assembly constituencies and will go to polls on May 12. The seat has 20.50 lakh voters spread across these constituencies.
Bhondsi falls in the Sohna assembly constituency and has around 20,000 Rajput voters. However, the constituency also has a considerable number of Gujjar and Mev voters, which number at 35,000 and 45,000 respectively, as per data compiled by a political party, which did not wish to be named.
To woo the large number of Punjabi voters in the Gurgaon assembly segment, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar would also be addressing a rally in Sector 14 on Wednesday. There are around 65,000 to 70,000 Punjabi voters in the constituency and a nudge from Khattar is expected to strongly help the incumbent BJP get more votes, according to BJP insiders.
The opposition, Congress, has invited senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot, who is also deputy chief minister in Rajasthan, to campaign in the city. His rally will be held in Damdama village, also in Sohna constituency, which has a significant Gujjar presence. “Pilot belongs to the Gujjar community and has significant influence in the community and is also seen as a youth icon. We hope his presence will boost our campaign,” Chiranjiv Rao, Congress leader and son of party candidate Ajay Yadav, said.
