Congaimsfora revival in BJP’s bastion
FOOTHOLD Political experts say it was the Ram Rath Yatra led by BJP leader LK Advani that changed the political scene in Ajmer in the ’90s JAIPUR:
Ajmer has been a bastion of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since the year 1990, the only exception being in the 1998 assembly elections. However, in the election year of 2018, the ruling government received a big jolt with the Congress romping home in the Lok Sabha by-elections held in January.
Political experts believe it was the Ram Rath Yatra led by senior BJP leader LK Advani that changed the political scenario in Ajmer in the 1990s when the party got a foothold in the district.
Not surprisingly, this might have been the reason behind chief minister Vasundhara Raje choosing to conclude her Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra in Ajmer tentatively by the end of September. The Yatra was launched from Charbhuja Nath temple in Rajsamand on August 4 in pre- sence of BJP president Amit Shah. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Yatra in Ajmer.
The district has eight assembly constituencies —KishanGarh, Pushkar, Ajmer-North, Ajmer-South, Nasirabad, Beawar, Masuda and Kekri. In 1990, BJP won five seats, the Congress, Janta Dal and an independent won one seat each. In 1993, the Congress and the BJP won four seats each, while in 1998, the Congress won seven seats and the BJP one. In 2003, the BJP won six seats and the Congress the rest two seats, while in 2008, the Congress grabbed four seats while BJP took three and an independent won one seat.
Tripti Jain, retired professor of political science, Government College Ajmer, said: “The political scenario in Ajmer changed after 1985, when caste became an important factor, which largely affected all sections of the society. From voting based on ideology, it changed to voting on caste and communal lines, with even Next week Dhundhar development taking a back seat.”
Jain said the Ram Rath Yatra consolidated the Hindu votes and gave the BJP a stronghold in Ajmer. Organisationally, the Congress was weak and the party had no leader to break the growing clout of the BJP, especially in rural areas.
“Looking at the trend in the past elections, a change is expected but it would depend on the selection of the candidates and the chief minister face of the Congress,” she said.
Political analyst Narayan Bareth said that after the Ram Rath Yatra, the OBC votes, which were traditionally with the Congress, went to the BJP. “The Congress, as an organisation, proved weak in Ajmer and was not able to match the programmes by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). The Jat community became politically active when they did not find space in the Mandal Commission report and got associated with the BJP,” he said.
BJP Ajmer district president (rural) professor BP Saraswat said: “In 2013, the BJP struck gold in Ajmer by winning all the eight assembly constituencies, Lok Sabha seat, Zila Parisad, Gram Panchayat and local bodies. It never happened before.”
Till 1985, Congress had its hold in almost all places in Rajasthan but after 1989, the BJP won all the Lok Sabha elections except for the losses to Congress candidate Prabha Thakur in 1998 and later to Sachin Pilot in 2009.
On losing the bypolls in January, Saraswat said there was a bit of annoyance among the traders and even the candidate was new but with government policies, welfare schemes, strengthened party organisation and loan waiver, the BJP has touched people.
“The visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has changed the whole scenario,” he said.
“Be it the organisation, candidates or leaders, Congress is weak in Ajmer as they are facing disputes even in the ward level and has leadership crisis,” Saraswat said.
On Gaurav Yatra concluding here, he said, “Ajmer is the heart of Rajasthan and is a religi- ous place, which houses the Dargah of sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Ha- san Chisti and Lord Brahma temple. Besides, the party won all seats in 2013, the same message will go across the state to create history,” he said.
Mahendra Singh Ralawata, state Congress secretary and former Ajmer district chief (city), said: “The whole movement of the BJP in Ajmer started in 1988 with Ram Rath Yatra as the city is the headquarter of RSS’s Chittorgarh prant. Along with it the RSS, the VHP and Adarsh Vidhya Mandir became active here. Our leadership focused on mass-based work but it should have been cadrebased, which we started now through ‘Mera Booth Mera Gaurav’ programme, under the leadership of Sachin Pilot.”
“People do not want to vote for the BJP and with right social engineering, Congress is certain to win in Ajmer,” he added.
In 1998, Congress candidate Prabha Thakur won as certain communities, including the Rajputs and Brahmins, supported her. When these communities supported Pilot, he also won in 2009. After that, not a single ticket was given to Rajputs in Ajmer division and despite all the development work of Pilot, the party lost. Thereafter Raghu Sharma won the bypolls in February 2018 as Rajput and other communities came in support.