Jaipur, (Samajweekly) The Congress and the BJP are following the strategy of social engineering in selecting candidates on different seats for the forthcoming Assembly polls in Rajasthan.
Both parties have released two lists each and while the BJP has issued tickets to 124 candidates, the Congress has given tickets on 76 seats.
Social engineering is clearly visible in ticket distribution as both the parties have tried to woo almost every major community by including their representatives. However, tickets have also been distributed as per individual vote pulling power.
Political experts told IANS that more importance has been given to the Jat community by both the parties.
“The Jat community has been given the maximum importance in the lists of both the BJP and the Congress party. Considering the caste plurality and influence in Rajasthan, till now the BJP has issued 21 (17 per cent) tickets to Jat leaders while the Congress has given 15 (20 per cent) tickets to them.
“The Jat community is expected to remain dominant in the forthcoming lists also. In every election, around 35 MLAs are elected from the Jat community only.
“Further, in its usual style, the BJP has also given a good number of tickets to Brahmin and Vaishya candidates by fielding them on 20 seats. This means that so far the BJP has given more than 16 per cent tickets to these two communities.
“If we talk about the Congress, the party has so far given 11 tickets (15 per cent) to the Brahmin and Vaishya community.
“Further, till now, the BJP has given about ten per cent tickets to the Rajput community and the Congress just about five per cent. However, about 125 Congress tickets are yet to be declared. In such a situation, the tickets for these communities may increase in the future.
“The Congress has fielded six Muslim candidates in the lists released so far while the BJP has no Muslim face till now. On the other hand, while the BJP has given tickets to two Sindhi candidates, the Congress has fielded none till now,” they said.
Interestingly, an almost equal number of tickets have been given to Gurjar candidates from both the parties. So far, five Gurjar candidates have got tickets from the BJP and four from the Congress.
“Both the parties have given tickets to Brahmin candidates from Sanganer (Jaipur), Bikaner West and Kekri seats. Here Brahmins have the largest and most influential vote bank.
“However, in Malviya Nagar, the BJP has fielded Kalicharan Saraf, the face of the Vaishya community while the Congress has placed its bet on a Brahmin face by fielding Archana Sharma. Brahmin and Vaishya voters are most influential in Malviya Nagar.
“Brahmins are the biggest vote bank in Nathdwara where the Congress candidate is the strongman CP Joshi, whereas the BJP has given a ticket to Vishvaraj Singh Mewar of the erstwhile Mewar royal family. Keeping in mind the emotions related to Maharana Pratap, the BJP has fielded a Rajput face from this important seat of Mewar,” they said.
The influence of the Jat community is visible in Laxmangarh, Mandawa, Baytu, Jhunjhunu, Nawan and Deeg-Kumher.
Experts said this is the reason why the candidates of both the parties here are Jats.
“However, along with Jats, the Gurjar and Java vote banks are also dominant in Deeg-Kumher. Jat and Rajput vote banks are important in Parbatsar seat of Nagaur. Jat MLA Ram Niwas Gawriya is the Congress candidate from here, whereas the BJP has placed its bet on a Rajput face, Mansingh Kinsariya.
“Similarly, there is a fight between Jat and Bishnoi faces in Nokha. Talking about Sawai Madhopur, Meena, Gurjar and Muslims are the dominant vote banks here. Kirodi Lal Meena is the candidate from the BJP here, whereas Gurjars and Muslims together form the second largest vote bank. The Congress MLA from here is Danish Abrar,” they say.
Political experts say that caste is the main basis for giving tickets on all the seats.
“Parties give tickets only after considering the caste equation of the area. But sometimes the influence of one family or polarisation, are also important factors. Many times, despite there being no caste basis, a leader gets the ticket due to the influence of his/her family in the area. On the same basis, leaders also win elections,” they point out.
