Rajasthan Assembly Polls 2018: Fissures in the Rajput-BJP relationship could hurt the party

As polling dates draw closer, the BJP government in Rajasthan faces a new complication — souring ties with the Rajputs.

The Rajputs have been traditional supporters of the BJP from the Jan Sangh days due to the contribution of Rajput leader and three-term Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.  The community forms about 12 percent of the state’s population, and asserts influence over 25 seats. The current government has three cabinet ministers and a junior minister from the Rajput community.

However, the recent move of Rajput leader Manvendra Singh joining the Congress, weeks before polling day is a clear indication of the Rajputs’ ire with the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government in the state.

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Manvendra Singh, son of former Union minister and Rajput leader Jaswant Singh, joined the Congress stating the “ill-treatment” of his father by the saffron party. Jaswant is still regarded as the top leader of the community and revered by the Rajputs.

During the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP denied a ticket to Jaswant Singh from Barmer, souring the Singh family’s ties with Raje.  Jaswant went on to contest the election against BJP’s official candidate and Manvendra campaigned for his father for that election. As a result, Manvendra was suspended from the party, but he continued to be MLA of the Sheo region.

The Rajputs have also been outraged by the fact that Vasundhara Raje picked Rajya Sabha MP and OBC leader Madanlal Saini over Rajput leader Gajendra Shekhawat as state party chief. Even though Shekhawat was the choice of BJP central leadership, Raje was adamant on having Saini in the leadership. This also exposed the infighting in the BJP camp.

Even before this, fissures between the Raje government and the Rajput community had started to appear during the aggressive protests against the release of the film Padmaavat. The Rajput community was irked by the government’s move of allowing the film to be shot.

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During the same time, the community’s fury was also directed to the encounter of Anandpal Singh, a gangster from the Ravana Rajput community. The encounter triggered protests demanding a CBI probe into the matter. The state government eventually obliged, but listed 115 cases against him and sent it to the agency. The relationship between the Rajputs and the government further deteriorated.

In 2016, as a part of an anti-encroachment drive, state government officials had locked the main entrance of the Rajmahal Palace in Jaipur. The move did not go well with the erstwhile royal family and led to Rani Padmini Devi staging public protests against the government. Padmini Devi is the mother of Diya Kumari, who was given a ticket by the BJP in the 2013 assembly elections.

The Rajput community, including erstwhile royals, distanced itself from the Raje-led BJP government for locking the entrance to their palace and the “humiliation” the royal family faced at their behest.

The BJP will have to tread carefully to win over the community, which is slowly drifting away from it. The only way to woo them now is through persuasion since Model Code of Conduct will prevent the government from rolling out any new policies so as to placate the Rajputs.

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