Jat stronghold of Nagaur witnesses close contest in Rajasthan

Nagaur Lok Sabha contest: Beniwal-Congress alliance vs. BJP rivalry, Jat leaders fight for supremacy, community support crucial.

Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) supremo Hanuman Beniwal’s first-ever alliance with Congress and his subsequent candidature from the Opposition INDIA bloc, has rendered the Lok Sabha contest in the Jat stronghold of Nagaur into a fight between old rivals.

Mr. Beniwal is pitted against Bharatiya Janata Party’s Jyoti Mirdha, whom he had defeated in 2019 when she fought as a Congress candidate.

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In a role reversal, Ms. Mirdha, 51, whose clan has produced Congress stalwarts such as Ram Niwas Mirdha and Nathu Ram Mirdha in the past, is highlighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guarantees in her election campaign. Ms. Mirdha, a former MP, joined the BJP in September 2023 in a setback to the Congress.

Both the Jat leaders are trying to sway the community’s opinion in their favour during whirlwind tours of dusty villages in the constituency. Mr. Beniwal, who had formed the RLP in 2018 after his suspension from the BJP, is aggressively campaigning among the Jat youth with the promise of generating employment opportunities for them. Jats comprise 18.75% of the voter population in the seat.

Issues such as opposition to the Agnipath military recruitment scheme, protests by wrestlers against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and farmers’ demands for minimum support price (MSP) and crop insurance have made an adverse impact and harmed the BJP’s reputation within the Jat community in the region.

The Lok Sabha election has also come as an opportunity for both Mr. Beniwal and Ms. Mirdha to gain supremacy as Jat leaders in the political landscape of Rajasthan and get acceptance with a high stature at the national level. This ambition has apparently led to personal barbs against each other in the speeches of both the candidates on the hustings.