Jaipur: Eastern Rajasthan is expected to witness an interesting election battle this time compared to the last one when Congress got a landslide victory in this Gurjar - Meena dominated belt. All this had happened because of Sachin Pilot who hails from the Gurjar community and was the biggest contender for the post of CM, but Sachin is nowhere in the picture this time, and considering this the Congress is betting on the issue of Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP). Now it will be interesting to see how ERCP will woo the Gurjars for the ruling party.
The East Rajasthan has five districts Dausa, Karauli, Sawai Madhopur, Bharatpur, and Dhoulpur with 24 assembly constituencies and BJP could get only one seat in Dhoulpur in the 2018 election.
Why did this happen?
Although, the BJP has not been very weak in Eastern Rajasthan. If we look at the caste equations here, this is a Meena and Gurjar-dominated area. Of these, Meenas have traditionally been with the Congress, while Gurjars have supported BJP, but in the last elections, Sachin Pilot from the Congress had become the face of the party. He was the state president of the party and there was every possibility of him becoming the CM. This was the reason why the Gurjar vote of Eastern Rajasthan outrightly shifted to Congress. Gurjars not only made Congress win on other seats but even voted against the Gurjar candidates of BJP.
What is the change now?
The situation this time is different. Political experts believe that this time the Gurjar vote will not shift to Congress. Political analyst Rajiv Tiwari said ' There is resentment among the community due to what had happened to Sachin Pilot in the last four and a half years and this time he is nowhere in the picture. Sachin has not been given any important responsibility in the elections, Considering this, Congress is likely to suffer especially on Gurjar-dominated seats.'
The leaders of the Congress party are also aware of the ground realities and, that is why the demand for a national status for ERCP i.e. East Rajasthan Canal Project was gradually pushed forward as an issue by CM Ashok Gehlot.
The party is all set to make it a big political issue in this area. A five-day Yatra is proposed in the 13 districts that come under the project. It will start with a big public meeting of party president Mallikarjun Kharge in Baran district on October 16th and will end with the public meeting of party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Dausa on October 20th.
The BJP is on the back foot on this issue as it has done nothing to take forward this project which was initiated by Vasundhara Raje and the union minister for Jalshakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is from Rajasthan.
CM Ashok Gehlot and the Congress party are continuously targeting Shekhawat and the ruling BJP for this. 'The issue of water touches everyone and we are hopeful that it will not only put pressure on the central government but will also help the party to overcome the challenge of resentment of Gurjars in the area,' said a senior party leader on anonymity.
Gain for BJP
As the performance of the BJP was quite poor in the last election, the party is to gain only this time. The senior leaders of the party are visiting the area regularly. Party president JP Nadda came to Sawai Madhopur to flag the Parivartan Yatra of the party. Union Minister for Home, Amit Shah held a meeting with party workers a few months ago in Bharatpur and candidates for eight seats of the region have been announced by the party.
