Jaipur: The ruling Congress that thrived on the support of the powerful farming community of the Jats in the last year’s December election for the Vidhan Sabha suffered a rude jolt as the minor political outfit Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) worked out an electoral arrangement with the BJP.
BJP has given RLP the Nagaur Lok Sabha seat and following the adjustment the BJP will support the candidature of the RLP leader Hanuman Beniwal from there. This seat is being represented by the BJP and its candidate CR Choudhry had won this seat in 2014.
Choudhry is a Union minister Beniwal from Nagaur constituency. The alliance with the RLP will help the BJP in mustering the support of the Jats in several other LS seats where the community has a sizeable presence. Beniwal is a BJP rebel who was expelled by the party for his anti-party activity.
The RLP first tried to make electoral adjustments with the Congress, but as the Congress was willing to give the RLP only one seat and asked Beniwal to contest from the Ajmer seat, the electoral adjustment could not work out and the RLP approached the BJP. Beniwal was unwilling to join hands with the BJP and the alliance was opposed by the former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje as Beniwal troubled her in her third innings as the Chief Minister.
Prakash Javdekar, who worked out the arrangement with Beniwal, had formally informed Vasundhara Raje on mobile and invited her to join the ceremony. But she refused to join. Beniwal has been a bitter critic of the former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje that led to his expulsion from the BJP, but largely because of Javdekar’s mediation, Beniwal worked out an arrangement with the BJP.
This adjustments is being seen by the political observers as a rude jolt to the Congress that would lose its clout among the powerful Jat community. The Congress also failed to arrive at an adjustment with the Bharatiya Tribal Party that has two seats in the Vidhan Sabha. The BTP wanted two seats from the Congress, while the Congress was willing to give one seat to them.
The Congress could not win any of the 25 seats in the 2014 election and it would go it all alone that has made its task difficult. It is likely that the Benwal factor would cause a dent on the Congress’ Jat votes in at least eight to 10 seats. This would mean a massive loss or erosion of the Jat votes.
