Caste politics raises head in Rajasthan

Irrespective of a candidate’s performance, merit, age and integrity, the success in the electoral battle lies in his genes. In a whirlwind tour of Rajasthan’s eight key districts from eastern Sawai Madhopur to the western border district of Jaisalmer, comprising 58 assembly segments, dna found that candidates’ caste and personal strength are the two primary criteria uppermost in electoral equations.

Election campaign managers find that voting for the caste is the strongest affiliation as opposed to pro-BJP, por-Congress or ideological affiliations. Despite the Allahabad High Court having banned caste-based rallies, almost all candidates and their aides in election offices are busy counting castes and communities that will vote in their favour. Since there has been no caste-based census since 1931, most calculations are speculative. 

A government official told dna in Sawai Madhopur that the figures dished out by the media are often uncontested and political greenhorns start believing them. At the other end, at an election office in Sur Sagar assembly segment near Jodhpur, aides of 75-year-old sitting BJP MLA Suryakanta Vyas try to explain how they are attempting to rope in Brahmin, Vaish, Sindhi Hindu, Mathur, Kanchi and Bishnoi communities to neutralise the votes of 42,000 Muslims, who they fear may vote for the Congress’ Saeed Ansari.

Some 400 km away in Sikar, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate Wahid Chuhan, a successful entrepreneur and an educationist, banks on consolidation of Muslims and luring a section of the Jat vote for a winning combination. In Nagore, BJP’s Muslim face Habib-ur-Rehman banks on Brahmins and Muslims to outwit the Jats, who are supporting Congress rebel Harendra Mirdha, contesting as an independent candidate. Even the BJP’s local influential Jat leaders are quietly switching loyalties to their caste rather than supporting the party’s official candidate. This is resulting in a surprise combination of Muslims consolidating in favour of the BJP candidate, in sharp contrast to other places where they combine to defeat the BJP.

While listing chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s achievements, his election manager Ajay Trivedi agrees that on the election day everything boils down to caste preferences. “It is a reality. Political parties may deny backing any particular caste, but they decide candidates on the basis of their caste and influence on their communities,” he says. “It is like making a dish. Instead of putting in rice, pepper and salt, you decide in terms of Muslims, Brahmins, Malis, SC/STs, etc to make a perfect, winning dish. This may seem to be an appalling state of India in the 21st century, but it is a fact.”

A look at the candidates list shows that the BJP has fielded 12 Brahmins, 32 Jats, 27 Rajpurs, nine Gujjars and four Muslims. The ruling Congress’ list has 18 Brahmins, 36 Jats, 14 Rajputs, 17 Muslims and 12 Gujjars.

BJP leaders agree that while they have been raising issues like inflation, corruption and governance, the caste factor has been difficult to ignore. On the other hand, the Congress was forced to give a ticket to Leila Maderna, wife of ex-minister and Bhanwari Devi case accused Mahipal Maderna, to please the Jats in Marwar region. Similarly, the party is fielding 82-year-old Amri Devi, mother of another accused Malkhan Singh, to please the Bishnois. The octogenarian can barely walk and sometimes fails to recognise her aides because of her advanced age.