Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Jaipur MP Ramcharan Bohra banks on his clean image

BJP’s Ramcharan Bohra proved his critics wrong when he won the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in the Jaipur Lok Sabha constituency with a margin of over 5.30 lakh votes. He has been again fielded from the seat by the party for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Jaipur MP Ramcharan Bohra had proved his critics wrong when he won the 2014 Lok Sabha polls with a margin of over 5.30 lakh votes, which was the largest ever in Rajasthan.

Ramcharan Bohara, the sitting MP from Jaipur Lok Sabha seat, has been fielded again by the BJP from this constituency.(HT Photo)

His detractors, who had questioned his candidature saying that he was not a recognised face, were stunned after his victory over then sitting Congress MP Mahesh Joshi.

Known for his low profile and easy approach, Bohra, now 63, made his electoral debut in 1995 when he was elected as the Zila Pramukh for five years.

He was elected as an MP from Jaipur in 2014. Amid the Modi wave, which led to BJP’S decisive victory in the 2014 LS polls, Bohra’s victory was smooth in Jaipur. While the Congress was being seen as a divided house over Mahesh Joshi’s nomination in Jaipur, Bohra’s clean image enjoyed support from a majority of the BJP workers.

 

A first time Lok Sabha MP, Bohra was made member of standing committee on urban development and consultative committee for the railway ministry. He is also a member of the standing committee on transport, tourism and culture.

A businessman and agriculturist, Bohra has been active in terms of his participation in debates and asking questions – the MP has participated in 110 debates and raised 312 questions.

However, voters seem unimpressed. “The MP could not bring much difference in the city be it sanitation, traffic congestion or water supply, which is still at many places is done through tankers. In Swachh Bharat ranking, the city has gone down from 39 to 44,” said Sanjay Yadav, a resident.

In his defence, Bohra said, “Sanitation is a subject of local bodies and decline in the rankings might have been negligence from their side. I am probably the first MP of Jaipur, who has spent around ₹3-4 crore from MPLAD funds for the sanitation vehicles, jetting machines and other infrastructure.”

 

He claimed that maximum amount of the MPLAD fund has been spent on infrastructure, which include installing tube wells in every assembly constituency, where the supply of water from Bisalpur dam was not effective. Now that the party announced his candidature from the Jaipur Lok Sabha, the ride to power on PM Narendra Modi’s name looks in his favour, but the party insiders contradict.

Sources in the party claim that it would be a bumpy ride as many prominent leaders were claimants to the tickets such as Diya Kumari, ex-MLA Mohan Lal Gupta, MLA Ashok Lahoti, Suman Sharma and Pranvendra Sharma – and that he might face factionalism.

 

However, appreciating Bohra, a party leader said he is an easy approachable and socially active leader. “A party worker would not be surprised, if he reaches his residence for a cup of tea,” he said.

The Congress has won Jaipur LS seat just thrice in last 16 elections since 1952, while the BJP has won eight times.

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