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Rajasthan: Will Rajputs stand for pride or loyalty?

Like his father Jaswant SIngh, the Sheo MLA’s rally has got BJP in an embarrassing position and in direct confrontation with CM Raje

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File photo of CM Vasundhara Raje participating in Shakti Sammelan of Rajput women in Jaisalmer. (R) Leading the preparations of Swabhiman Rally, Chitra Singh, wife of Manvendra Singh, interacts with locals in Pachpadra on Friday.
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History would repeat itself on Saturday when BJP legislator from Sheo constituency in Barmer, Manvendra Singh, takes out Swabhiman Rally rooting for Rajput pride, which he claims has taken a severe battering in the party’s current tenure. The rally is being held on Sunday at Pachpadra, the place where the oil refinery is coming up.

His rally has got the BJP in an embarrassing position and in direct confrontation with chief minister Vasundhara Raje who chose to skip his constituency while on her visit to the Jodhpur division during the Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra.

Sensing that the party MLA was mobilizing the Rajput community against its government, the BJP had organsied a Shakti Sammelan of women drawn from Rajput families in Jaisalmer when Raje was touring the area. The chief minister not  only attended the meeting but also pledged her support to the cause of the community.  

But the rally is a talking point in the western districts of Rajasthan for a different reason altogether. Former foreign minister Jaswant Singh in 2008, had reportedly made his displeasure with the then Raje government known publicly. Manvendra along with his wife Chitra Singh has now stepped into his father’s shoes.

Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, however has cautioned Manvendra that if there is any resentment against anybody, then it should be brought to the table and discussed like it is done in the family. “If Manvendra Singh had a grievance, he should have taken it up in the party. To organize such a rally, it is not right way,” he said.

His father Jaswat Singh who’s still in coma after an accident, had organized a similar public meeting in Jasol in 2008. Singh was not given a ticket to contest the last Lok Sabha elections from Barmer and instead Solonel Sonaram, a Congressman who joined BJP at the last minute, was made the party’s candidate.

Manvendra Singh claims that the pride of the Rajput community was hurt the way his father was treated in favour of an outsider. The rally is also important because it will test Manvendra’s clout in his community. On the other hand, Sonaram, who has started mobilizing the Jat community to which he belongs to secure the ground ahead of polls.

Aides of Manvendra Singh claim support from Marwar (Jodhpur division) Jaisalmer, Barmer and Nagaur districts. Various organizations of Rajput community have already announced their support to him. The BJP, however, has neither stepped in to rein in Manvendra, nor has it taken any action against the Sheo MLA who is openly confronting the state government. 

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