What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
At the constituency once ruled by the Pilots, BJP hopes to woo Gurjar-Meena belt with highways for the development
With Rajasthan set to go to the polls in December this year, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leaving no stone unturned to win back the key state.
On February 12, it was Prime minister Narendra Modi who sounded the poll bugle with a flurry of infrastructure projects that will help in the development of Dausa – a key town in the crucial Gurjar-Meena belt.
PM Modi addressed a large public gathering in Dausa’s Dhanawar village in eastern Rajasthan, which is a ‘Gurjar-Meena belt’ after the inauguration of a big infrastructure project – the Sohna-Dausa stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.
This was PM Modi’s second visit to the state within a fortnight. He visited Bhilwara district on January 28 to attend a function marking the birth anniversary of Lord Devnarayan, a deity revered by Gurjars.
The Gurjar-Meena communities play a key role in the political battle in Rajasthan. In 2018, they backed Congress in anticipation of Sachin Pilot becoming the Chief minister of the state.
Pilot holds significant sway over the Gurjar community, with Dausa making a 26-year-old Pilot the youngest Parliamentarian in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
Pilot’s father and late Congress stalwart Rajesh Pilot represented the constituency in Lok Sabha from 1984 until the time of his death on June 11, 2000.
Pilot senior is often called the Chanakya of Gurjar-Meena politics. It is said that when the late leader’s convoy used to pass through the streets of Dausa, people used to wait for him with folded eyelids and shout slogans in his name.
While Sachin Pilot switched to Tonk in the Tonk-Sawai Madhopur Lok Sabha constituency, his hold remained strong in Dausa.
When Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through eastern Rajasthan recently, the crowd chanted slogans in support of Sachin Pilot, echoing the days of Pilot senior.
That Sachin Pilot carried on the legacy of his late father is evident from the fact that many believe he was instrumental in Congress regaining power in Rajasthan. However, belying all expectations the wily Ashok Gehlot ensured the chair of Chief minister returned to him.
And it is this hurt, the sense of betrayal of their beloved leader by Congress, the BJP is trying to cash in on. While Congress, realising the game plan, tried to mollify the Gurjar community by paying rich tributes to the late Rajesh Pilot on his birth anniversary on February 10, the BJP is hoping to woo the community through promises of development and gestures honouring their cultural and religious practises instead of offering overtly caste-specific inducements.
The BJP is looking to make inroads in the 39 assembly seats in eastern Rajasthan’s Dausa, Sawai Madhopur and Bundi regions. Gurjar-Meena voters have a significant presence in seven districts of eastern Rajasthan, including these 39 assembly constituencies.
In the 2018 elections, Congress won 35 out of 39 seats in these parts. The STs in Rajasthan account for 13.48 per cent of the votes in the state, with the largest group being the Meena, followed by the Bhil tribe.
Meanwhile, PM Modi on Sunday said only a “double-engine government” would ensure Rajasthan’s progress as the ruling Congress “lacked vision and was not capable of implementing development plans and budgetary announcements on the ground”.
Talking about the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, PM Modi said the people in districts such as Dausa, Alwar, Bharatpur, Tonk, Bundi and Kota would benefit from the expressway, as they could reach the big markets of Delhi, especially for agricultural produce. “This is just a trailer. The film is yet to come…,” he remarked.
BJP is banking on PM Modi’s meeting with these two communities within two weeks will improve the party’s prospects in the region ahead of the Assembly election.
