Raj: BJP balances caste equations, pushes new names in Lok Sabha seats

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has so far declared names for 24 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan — only Bhilwara seat is left.

With new leaders coming to the forefront in the state, the ticket distribution indicates that a power shift has taken place, according to people familiar with the developments.

The party has tried to balance caste equations while distributing the seats, giving tickets to seven Jats, four Rajputs, two Brahmins, two OBCs, one Vasihya, one Gurjar. Four sets are reserved for SC and three are reserved for ST.

In its list declared on Tuesday, the party dropped sitting MP Jaskaur Meena from Dausa and fielded Kanhaiya Lal Meena while MP Manoj Rajoria was dropped from Karauli Dholpur and ticket was given to Indu Devi Jatav.

In its earlier lists also, the party has sprung surprises, giving tickets to Congress defectors or to new faces. Even though the BJP has been championing women’s empowerment, the party has fielded only four women candidates.

“The message from the party is clear that a power shift has taken place in Rajasthan and a new younger leadership is taking the reins from those leaders who were calling the shots in the last two decades,” said the people quoted above. The BJP has also reiterated its philosophy that the party and organisation “are larger than the individual.”

BJP has changed candidates on 14 seats so far in view of the caste factor and anti incumbency. The seats where new faces have been brought in are Jaipur, Sriganganagar, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Jaipur Rural, Rajsamand, Dausa, Karauli Dholpur, Alwar, Bharatpur, Nagaur, Jalore, Udaipur and Banswara.

MP Ramcharan Bohra who won the last two Lok Sabha elections from Jaipur constituency with a margin of over five hundred thousand votes has been dropped “due to anti incumbency and also due to his being a loyalist of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje,” said a party leader on the condition of anonymity.

In his place, Manju Sharma, daughter of former BJP state president and former minister Bhanwarlal Sharma, will try her luck at the hustings. She had unsuccessfully contested the 2008 assembly elections.

The party has fielded two former Congress leaders on Nagaur and Banswara seats. Jyoti Mirdha who belongs to the prominent Mirdha family in the Jat belt will contest from Nagaur while influential tribal leader Mahendrajit Singh Malviya will fight from Banswara seat.

From Jaipur Rural seat, Rao Rajendra Singh, former deputy speaker of assembly has been fielded while in Sriganganagar Nihalchand has been replaced by Priyanka Balan who is the chairperson of Anoopgarh municipal council.

From Churu, Rahul Kaswan considered a Raje loyalist, has been dropped. The party has fielded Paralympian Devendra Jhajhariya. Earlier, former leader of opposition Rajendra Rathore had alleged that “Kaswan had sabotaged his chances” in the assembly election from Taranagar.

In Rajsamand, the party has slackened its policy of not giving a ticket to two members of the same family. However, on this seat, the party has fielded Mahima Singh, wife of Nathdwara MLA Vishvaraj Singh Mewar of the erstwhile Mewar royal family with an eye on Rajput vote.

Narendra Kumar, the MP from Jhunjhunu has been replaced by Shubhkaran Choudhary, a former MLA. A party leader said: “Choudhary was backed by the central leadership in view of the Jat votes in the region.”

The Alwar seat fell vacant after sitting MP Baba Balaknath contested the assembly election. Here Union minister Bhupendra Yadav, who is considered close to the BJP high command has got a ticket.

In Jalore, the BJP dropped MP Devji Patel in favour of newbie Lumbaram Choudhary who is former pradhan of Sirohi panchayat samiti and former district BJP president.

Similarly, the party has fielded Mannalal Rawat from Udaipur. Rawat is considered close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and has worked in the transport department. He has now applied for voluntary retirement.

In Dausa, the ticket was stuck because both Jaskaur Meena and senior party leader and now agriculture minister Kirodi Lal Meena were seeking tickets for their kin. However, the party refused to yield and instead placed faith in former MLA Kanhaiyalal Meena. Kirodi Lal Meena’s supporters are “unhappy with the decision and could play spoilsport on the seat”, said people familiar with the developments.

On the Karauli Dholpur seat, which is reserved for SC, BJP has fielded Indudevi Jatav.

In Bharatpur, the party dropped sitting MP Ranjeeta Koli and put its faith in Ramswaroop Koli, a former MP. He contested in 2004 and won. However, after that he was not given a ticket. “Koli has been associated with the RSS since long and the outfit lobbied for his ticket,” said a party leader.

Reacting to the ticket distribution, political analyst Mithilesh Jaimini said, “Some seats look tough for the BJP such as Dausa, Nagaur, Banswara and Sriganganagar, In Dausa, the BJP could face internal strife while on Nagaur, Jyoti Mirdha faces a tough fight from RLP chief Hanuman Beniwal. In Banswara, if Congress gives a walkover to Bharat Adivasi Party then it will be a tough fight while Sriganganagar seat could also pose a challenge. The BJP has distanced itself from former CM Vasundhara Raje. Whether this will be a boon or bane, the results will show.”

BJP spokesperson Laxmikant Bhardwaj meanwhile said, “The BJP will win all 25 seats because it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is contesting on all the seats. People will vote for his good governance and the development work done in the last 10 years.”