'Kesariya...Padhaaro Mhare Des': How Rajputs & Meenas Helped BJP in Mewar & East Rajasthan

This Rajasthan election result shows one clear trend — Mewar and Eastern Rajasthan returned to the saffron fold.

While the Mewar region is heavily influenced by Rajputs, the Eastern zone is mostly dominated by tribals. The Kirodi Lal Meena factor did not help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) get Meena votes in 2018, when Rajputs were a divided house — mostly still angry with the BJP over Padmavaat movie. However, if late evening trends are anything to go by, the BJP managed to change that in 2023.

RAJPUTS HAPPY, MEWAR BACK     

The 2018 disenchantment of Rajputs was gone in 2023, as News18 reported during its election coverage of the region, and it reflected on the election tally. One of the key reasons was fielding Vishwaraj Sing Mewar, a descendant of Maharana Pratap from Nathdwara. Someone from that lineage joined active politics after 30 long years.

During an interview with News18, he said, “As far as my lineage is concerned, I would say by God’s grace and the conduct of my ancestors, we share a bond and a rapport with the people here and it is likewise from their side.” The message of wooing the community seems to have percolated down to the last Rajput in the region.

Additionally, the BJP fielded several Rajputs namely Gajendra Singh Shehawat, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Narpat Singh Rajvi (who is also the son-in-law of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat), and many more sending out a message that they have walked an extra mile. With places like Udaipur Urban, Udaipur Rural, Nathdwara, and Rajsamand seeing BJP candidates surging ahead, Mewar has returned to the saffron fold. In 2018, the BJP lost 14 MLAs in the Mewar region.

Historically, it is said that whoever wins Mewar wins the sea of power in Jaipur. However, last time, the region threw a divided verdict, where the Congress added 11 MLAs in terms of its 2013 performance.

TRIBALS WITH MODI, EAST WITH BJP

Just before the 2018 Rajasthan election, BJP’s poster boy Harish Meena defected to the Congress. The BJP was legitimately worried about whether it could retain its influence over the community, especially in eastern Rajasthan.

Kirori Lal Meena is a firebrand leader of the Meena community, who left the BJP during the 2003 election, dealing a blow to the saffron party and came back as Rajya Sabha MP, but it hardly impacted in the 2018 poll. However, this time around, he led agitations and became a whistleblower in several alleged scams that ensued central agency raids seem to have worked for the BJP this time. Also bringing him back from the cold storage of the upper house, the BJP fielded him from Sawai Madhopur this time, sending out a clear message to the Meenas.

Reaching out to the tribals this October, PM Modi lauded their role in the nation’s freedom struggles, while speaking in Banswara. “Every step of our freedom struggle, pages of history are filled with tribal valour,” he said.

It seems to have paid off as BJP candidates are leading with handsome margins in Sawai Madhopur (where BJP’s tallest Meena leader is contesting), Kota South, Jhalrapatan (where Vasundhara Raje Scindia has won), Chhabra, and Dag among other assembly constituencies. While there are aberrations like Bharatpur or Kota North, the BJP seems to have been successful in planting its saffron flag in the Eastern region of the state.

Original news source