Caste factor, not development, poll plank for most candidates in Rajasthan

Irrespective of candidate’s performance, merit, age and integrity, the success in the electoral battle lies in his genes. In a whirlwind tour of eight key districts of Rajasthan, from eastern Sawai Madhopur to the western border district of Jaisalmer, comprising 58 Assembly segments, dna found candidates’ caste and his personal strength, emerging as two primary criteria uppermost in electoral equations deciding their fate. 

Despite Allahabad High Court having banned caste-based rallies, almost all candidates and their aides in their election offices are busy with counting castes and communities to vote in their favour. Since there has been no caste-bases census after 1931, most of the calculations are speculative. 

A government official told dna in Sawai Madhopur that the figures dished out by the media often go uncontested and political greenhorns start believing in them.

At another election office in Sur Sagar Assembly segment near Jodhpur, aides of a sitting BJP MLA 75-year old Suryakanta Vyas try to explain how they are attempting to rope in Brahmins, Vaishyas, Sindhi Hindus, Mathurs, Kanchis and Bishnois to neutralise 42,000 Muslim votes, who they fear may vote for Saeed Ansari of the Congress.

Some 400 kms away in Sikar, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate Wahid Chuhan, a successful entrepreneur and an educationist banks on consolidation of Muslims and luring a section of a Jat vote to dish out a winning combination. In Nagaur, BJP’s Muslim face Habib-ur-Rehman, banks on Brahmins and Muslims to outwit Jats, who are supporting Congress rebel Harendra Mirdha, contesting as an Independent candidate. Even the BJP’s local influential Jat leaders are quietly switching loyalties to their caste, rather than supporting their party’s official candidate. And this makes a surprise combination of Muslims consolidating in favour of the BJP candidate, in a sharp contrast to other places, where they combine to defeat the saffron party.

While listing chief minister Ashok Ghelot’s achievements, his election manager Ajay Trivedi agrees that on the election day, everything boils down to caste preferences. “It is a reality. Political parties may deny backing any particular caste, but they decide candidates on the basis of their caste and influence on their communities,” he says. “It is like making a dish,  instead of putting in rice, pepper and salt, you decide in terms of Muslims, Brahmins, Malis, SC/STs etc to make a perfect winning dish, which may be appalling in the 21st century India. But it is a fact,” adds Trivedi.

The Congress was forced to give tickets to Leela Maderna, wife of accused ex-minister Mahipal Maderna in Bhanwari Devi case to please the Jats in Marwar region. To please the Bishnois, the party fielded 82-year Amri Devi, mother of another accused in Bhanwari Devi case Malkhan Singh.

She is barely able to walk and sometimes even unable to recognise her aides due to her old age.

The BJP leaders also agree that while they have been raising issues like inflation, corruption and governance, the caste factor was difficult to ignore.

A look at the candidate list shows, the BJP has fielded 12 Brahmins, 32 Jats, 27 Rajputs, 9 Gurjars and 4 Muslims. The ruling Congress list includes 18 Brahmins, 36 Jats, 14 Rajputs, 17 Muslims and 12 Gurjars.