A tough fight is expected between BJP and Congress on the 12 Lok Sabha seats of Rajasthan for which voting will be held in the first phase on April 19. Even though the BJP is in power in Rajasthan, out of these 12 seats, seven are such where Congress had gained the lead in the recently held assembly elections.
In the recent assembly election, the BJP got 115 seats but couldn't perform well on the 12 Loksabha seats of North - East region of the state. Out of the total 96 seats falling under these 12 seats, 47 are held by Congress, 42 by BJP and seven by independents.
In the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, polling will be held in Jaipur City, Jaipur Rural, Alwar, Churu, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Nagaur, Dausa, Karoli-Dholpur, Bharatpur, Bikaner and Sriganganagar seats. Of these, Jaipur city, Dausa, Bharatpur and Bikaner are the seats where BJP had taken the lead in the assembly elections; while in Jaipur Rural Congress and BJP have an equal number of seats. Congress had the upper hand on the remaining seven seats.
BJP's Strategic Moves And Caste Dynamics In The 12 Lok Sabha Seats
The focus of the central leadership of the BJP was also on these seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held meetings in Jhunjhunu, Jaipur Rural, Karauli-Dholpur, and Pushkar and took out a roadshow in Dausa. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also hold a road show in Jaipur and a public meeting in Alwar.
Among the important seats two union ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal from Bikaner and Bhupendra Yadav from Alwar are in the fray in the first phase of polling in Rajasthan.
Out of these 12 seats, there are some seats in North and East Rajasthan where caste equations dominate; These include the seats of Sikar, Churu, Jhunjhunu in Shekhawati and Dausa, Karauli and Bharatpur in eastern Rajasthan. Among these, Jats dominate on Shekhawati seats, while Meena and Gurjar are on the seats of East Rajasthan. Jats and Meenas are not considered traditional voters of BJP so the caste equation of these seats is also a challenge for the saffron party.
Congress Faces Uphill Battle Amid Alliance Complications And Internal Conflicts
On the other hand, the contest is not looking very easy for Congress either. Despite good performance in the assembly election, Congress has given Sikar and Nagaur seats to CPI(M) and RLP in the alliance. Jaipur City, Jaipur Rural, Alwar, Bharatpur, Bikaner, and Ganganagar are such seats where issues like Hindutva may dominate the polling. The internal conflicts of the party are also a matter of concern for the party on some seats like Jaipur, Nagaur and Bikaner.
Experts believe that in the two-phase elections in Rajasthan, a tough fight will be seen only in the 12 seats of the first phase. Political analyst Rajeev Tiwari said that these seats had become challenging for the BJP in the assembly elections and this time caste equations seem to be dominating the elections, hence the contests here can be quite interesting.
