Jaipur: Congress in Rajasthan is trying to cash in on Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation against the BJP by linking it to Kisan Samman and Jat politics of the state. Congress leaders said that there is no place for farmers in the BJP.Jagdeep Dhankhar is a Jat and comes from Jhunjhunu, a Jat-dominated area of Rajasthan, and his sudden resignation has given Congress an opportunity to fuel the Jats' resentment against the BJP in the state where caste based politics plays a dominant role.
Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra, who himself is a Jat and comes from Sikar, a district near Jhunjhunu, said, “the resignation is shocking and a lot is to be revealed, but I want to say that farmers and farmers' sons are struggling in the BJP and have no place for them. Only the “use and through” game is going on for the farmer community in the BJP."
While former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said, “Jagdeep Dhankhar was constantly raising issues related to farmers both inside and outside the Parliament. Once he had also reprimanded the Agriculture Minister on the issue of farmers. I don't understand why, but I felt that the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Vice President were under pressure. I stated this in Jodhpur, which has now proven with the resignation of the Vice President.”
The Rajasthan BJP leaders are tight-lipped on the issue. Since the matter is directly related to the high command, no one is ready to say anything on record, but off the record agrees that the sudden resignation may pose problems for the party in Rajasthan.
"Dhankhar is a Jat from Rajasthan. Even after becoming the Vice President, he was active in the state with his frequent visits. His course of action in the state after resignation is difficult to predict, but a problematic situation cannot be ruled out ,” a BJP leader said on anonymity.
It is worth noting that Jats are the biggest caste vote bank in Rajasthan and directly influence around 50 seats. Congress has a good hold on this vote. In the last Loksabha elections, the saffron party lost the Jat-dominated seats of Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Churu, Sriganganagar, and Barmer. The BJP lacks a strong face in this farmer community, and Dhankhar was somewhere filling this space despite being on a constitutional post.
