Jats to play key role in upcoming Rajasthan polls, Cast role in upcoming election, Rajasthan assembly election, Rajasthan , Rajsthan poll, Congress and BJP battle.
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- Last Updated: Thursday, 22 January 2015 20:50
Jats to play key role in upcoming Rajasthan polls.
JAIPUR: A swing by the Jats, a community which is politically and economically sound, holds key to the success of either the ruling Congress or BJP in the upcoming state elections. The combined strength of Jats and Bishnois has always been a force to reckon within the state politics and the 40 MLAs along with eight members of Lok Sabha clearly depicts the story of the Jat power in Rajasthan.
Primarily, the Jats are agriculturist community but now they have excelled in various walks of life and the combined head count of Jats and Bishnois accounts for 18% of the state's total population.
Despite the fact that Jats influenced the state politics greatly, they have immensely regretted that none from their community could wrest the post of the chief minister so far. The community became particularly bitter when in 2003 Ashok Gehlot was preferred over Paras Ram Maderna for the chief minister.
The Jats opposed Gehlot as he was allegedly against giving them the status of other backward classes (OBC). However, the Atal Bihari Vaj[ayee's NDA government granted them the OBC status.
In Rajasthan, Congress lost power in 2003 mainly because of the anti-Gehlot wave and the Jats tilted towards BJP considering that Vasundhara Raje was a "Jat bahu". However, when Vasundhara Raje came to power, she seemed to have sidelined the Jats and as a result a sizeable number of the community returned to the Congress fold.
Currently, Congress is facing a piquant situation following the arrest of Mahipal Maderna, a cabinet minister in Gehlot's government and another powerful MLA, Malkhan Singh Bishnoi. Both of them are in jail now as principal conspirators in the killing of Bhanwari Devi, a nurse who was known for having close relationships with the two leaders.
These two leaders were arrested by CBI and are now facing trail for murder of Bhanwari Devi. Their judicial custody have already annoyed both the Jats and the Bishnois who feel that chief minister Ashok Gehlot conspired to get them arrested.
Even after revelation of a CD which showed Maderna in a compromising position with Bhanwari Devi and several evidences which proved that Bishnoi had intimate relationship with the nurse did not convince the communities, which have taken the matter as a personal vendetta of Gehlot.
In 2008, Congress came to power largely because the Jat support and the community pinned hope on Congress that a Jat would be made the chief minister. But interestingly, the Jats are a divided house and several claimants came forth from within the community to seek the prestigious post.
A total disunity among the community over the issue of leadership was evident then. Former Union minister late Nathu Ram Mirdha was the tallest Jat leader to vie for the post and after that several claimants, including former Union minister Sis Ram Ola, who belongs to the Shekhawati belt and claimed to be the most influential Jat, sought the post. However, his claim was countered by the Jats of the Marwar region.
"The Jats would support a winnable Jat candidate. If it feels the Congress candidate has better chance of victory, the community would support the Congress candidate. Similarly, if we feel that the BJP's candidate is stronger, we would support BJP. Interestingly, in the electoral fray, a Jat is always opposed by a Jat, so we have to be careful.
But I feel the Jats this time would lean towards Congress as Vasundhara Raje treated the Jat leaders shabbily when she was the chief minister," said Raja Ram Meel, the Jat Mahasabha's supremo.
But BJP general secretary Satish Poonia, himself a Jat, said the strong community is coming to the BJP fold and the situation of 2003 is being revived which would lead to the party's electoral gains.
Politically, the Jats of Bharatpur region are different from Jats of other regions. The former ruler of Bharatpur, Vishvendra Singh, has been the leader of Bharatpur's Jats, but now ex-health minister Digambar Singh of BJP feels he heads the community and the Jats of Bharatpur would abide by his orders when it comes to supporting a party. Digmbar had sprung a surprise when he defeated Vishvendra Singh, a Congressman, in the last election.
source:TOI