'Thakur Saab' -- Congress candidate against CM Raje -- tries to shed 'outsider' tag, lends ears to voters
Less than 100 kilometres from the Madhya Pradesh border lies this inconspicuous village, Ruparel, which has suddenly come alive like a hornet's nest. This village in Jhalrapatan, the constituency which Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is winning times in a row, is now seeing a new face that is aggressively canvassing against her.
SUVs navigate the narrow cemented roads crisscrossing the green fields with mustard and onion crops standing tall. The rank and the file of Congress is waiting here for a man, not of their ilk but has been recently baptized into the party ranks and ordained their local general who would steer them into the fight with Raje. The tempo of the drums hanging around the neck of the workers and band members goes up as a Bolero appears on the horizon on the road. A turbaned man, wearing a dhoti, gets out of the sturdy SUV to reveal his face to the jubilant workers. Manvendra Singh, the Congress candidate has arrived.
Singh was chosen by party president Rahul Gandhi to fight the battle of his life. He has been living life out of a suitcase, literally. Singh has taken a house on rent in Civil Lines locality in Jhalrapatan where he is staying, his hometown being in Jasol, Barmer. 'Thakur Saab', as he is referred to, arrives in Ruparel after meeting farmers in Borda, Semli Bhawani and Kali Talai villages. His wife Chitra Singh is holding the fort at other end of the constituency in Mathania village.
Manvendra Singh steps out in his traditional hunter shirt, dhoti and paag (turban). The only difference this time is he has started wearing sneakers instead of jutis (shoes made of camel skin). "The roads are this bad here, he says pointing to his sneakers. Can't wear my jutis," he says nodding his head in dismay. As he gets down from his SUV bearing Barmer registration plate and a Mayo College sticker, he asks, "Do I look like an outsider?" He then turns around to meet the villagers who have by now thronged him. He takes the mike, makes a small speech asking the people to vote for Congress party. The villagers keep on telling him their issues and he listens to them patiently and asks them, "Have you also got the tokens?" in reference to the garlic farmers who received the tokens but never got around to selling their purchase to the government.
He traverses through several villages surviving on home-cooked khichdi and apples. The campaigning leaves him tired, but he returns to his hotel-cum-home to plan the next day's tour. The battle lines are drawn and he is fighting the BJP giant. The only question is will he be able to pull off a David on December 7 when the state goes to polls.
Jhalawar Ki Azaad
- With a battle cry of ‘Jhalawar azaad hoga’, Singh says he is determined to live up to the challenge of taking on his formidable opponent.
- “I am here to fight and win, not to contest for the sake of it,” says son of former BJP leader Jaswant Singh.
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