Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

‘Local versus outsider’ key narrative in Alwar battle

- HT Correspond­ent letters@hindustant­imes.com

JAIPUR/ALWAR: The narrative for the Alwar seat, going to Lok Sabha elections in the first phase on Friday, is sharply drawn — a battle between “local versus outsider”, say political experts .

The Congress candidate and Alwar- born legislator Lalit Yadav will be squaring off against Union minister Bhupendra Yadav, who hails from Haryana.Going by the electoral history of Alwar, a consistent trend has come to the fore: Yadav candidates emerging victorious on numerous occasions. In this constituen­cy, voting patterns are often driven more by the “personalit­ies of the candidates rather than strict party affiliatio­ns”, according to the political experts.The social dynamics further accentuate­s this phenomenon, with the one-sided voting of the Yadav community holding the power to significan­tly alter the course of the election.

Political experts believe that in the previous Lok Sabha elections, the competitio­n between

Jitendra Singh of the Congress and Mahant Balaknath of the BJP led to a “unilateral flow” of Yadav votes towards Balaknath’s candidacy. However, the upcoming elections present a unique scenario with both candidates hailing from the Yadav community. In this context, both contenders face a significan­t challenge in securing the support of their community while also appealing to broader electorate concerns, said a political expert.

While the BJP has secured victory in Alwar twice before, the dynamics have shifted in the current election cycle. “Beyond the traditiona­l Yadav versus Yadav narrative, the discourse has expanded to include discussion­s on local and national issues” said the expert.

Of the eight assembly seats in Alwar Lok Sabha seat, five are with Congress and three with BJP.According to a local journalist, Bhupendra Yadav has a plus point that “BJP is in a strong position in urban areas”. “He is campaignin­g on ‘Modi’s guarantee’ and with his known closeness to PM Narendra Modi, everyone from the senior party leader to the smallest worker is engaged with him. However former MP and MLA Balak Nath supporters aren’t happy with their leader not being given any post in the state cabinet, which might work against him,” said the journalist.

The third factor

Despite the direct contest between the BJP and the Congress, the presence of the Bahujan Samaj Party adds a significan­t third factor to the electoral landscape in the constituen­cy. With a considerab­le population of Meo Muslims ( an ethnic group from the Mewat region of north-western India) and the SC- ST voters, the political dynamics in the constituen­cy have gotten further complicate­d.

Traditiona­lly, the Congress has regarded both Meo Muslims and SC-ST voters as its “support base”. However, the candidacy of Fazal Hussain, son of Mev leader Tayyab Hussain, representi­ng the BSP, introduces a new dynamic. Hussain’s strong connection with the Meo voters, coupled with the potential to attract SC-ST votes poses a challenge to the Congress’ hold on these demographi­cs, said another political analyst.

According to the analyst, this factor “could significan­tly impact the Congress vote bank, as Hussain’s candidacy has the potential to draw support away from the party”. The competitio­n between the BJP, Congress, and BSP will be intense, with each vying for the support of diverse voter segments, said the expert.

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