Rajasthan Assembly Elections 2018: Thanks to caste violence, Rajput votes divided this time

It is a day of hectic poll activity in Osian; entourages of independent candidate Mahendra Singh Bhati and Congress's Divya Singh Maderna criss-cross across the region trying to cram up as many poll meetings before the state heads to the polls.

As far as caste equations go, Maderna and Bhati are standing at two opposing ends of the axis; one is a Jat debutante trying hard to bring back her family into political relevance, another is a seasoned Rajput politician who is comfortable with all he has to offer. While it is another matter that both have started out at the Congress, the fates of these two will likely be decided by events that might have taken place in a small village over ten months ago.

On January 14 this year, Samrau village was caught within a spate of caste-based violence, after the murder of an alcohol trader Hanuman Ram Jat. The death angered the Jat community, which later spilled into the streets of Samrau, leaving over six shops and about four houses destroyed. Parts of a fort was damaged as well.

Samrau residents say that the murder was done by outsiders, and village residents had to pay the price. Whispers of inciting speeches by Maderna and Jat leader Hanuman Singh Beniwal make the rounds; BJP MLA Babu Singh Rathore has publicly alleged it as well.

Village resident Mahavir Singh says that his sister's wedding was postponed after his house was looted; he says that Bhati and Rajput community leaders pitched in later. Another resident Sohan Singh says that two of his shops were gutted in the violence. While they were compensated by the Rajasthan state government, both are pitching for Bhati, who they say helped them.

The incident, which galvanised the Rajputs owing mostly to a long-winding feud with the Jats, has wedged a divide in the Rajput vote bank in the state, which has traditionally voted for the BJP. The community, which has an influence in over 33 seats in Mewar, Marwar and parts of Shekhawat, has always been a formidable force.

Poll analyst Ashafaque Kayamkhani says that this is perhaps the first state elections where the influence of the Rajput vote bank is divided. "Some of the votes will be retained by the BJP, but the younger lot will work against the BJP. This will mean supporting independent or other candidates," he says. The encounter of Anandpal Singh and the BJP's mistreatment of senior leader Jaswant Singh, too, are factors.

What makes the fight interesting in the seat is Maderna's candidature. The 34-year-old has the tough challenge of bringing back the Madernas into Rajasthan politics. Her father, Mahipal Maderna, once considered a CM hopeful, has been in jail since 2012 in the murder of auxiliary nurse Bhanwari Devi.

Maderna's poll meeting was devoid of any women. "My family has contested 14 elections in seven decades from this soil. Consider me a bajra plant, and only if you nurture me, my roots will grow," she says.

Only time will decide.

The Equation

While the BJP has fielded 28 Rajput candidates, the Congress has fielded 13. The Rajputs account for over 12% of the voters. In Osian, charged up Rajput supporters of Bhati claim that over 33 communities will vote alongside the Rajputs. The community, which has an influence in over 33 seats in Mewar, Marwar and parts of Shekhawat, has always been a formidable force.