Revealed: BJP's strategy to counter Congress in Rajasthan

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to thwart attempts by Congress to divide the Hindu voters on the caste lines in Rajasthan which is seemingly pushing various caste groups like Jats and Brahmins to hold community meetings ahead of crucial Assembly polls later this year.

The recent Jat Mahakumbh and Brahmin Mahapanchayat, held in Jaipur, are being seen as an indication that the Congress is attempting to ensure that these communities do not end up backing the saffron unit in the Assembly polls, BJP sources said.

There has been a spurt in such caste-based activity and meetings by various communities and the saffron party feels that the Congress is attempting to create fissures within the Hindu community to ensure that the BJP loses the forthcoming Assembly polls. 

Any division in the Hindu consolidated vote will only help Congress which is also banking on consolidation of the minority vote bank, sources added.  

However, the issue has been taken note of by the top leadership of the BJP which has held discussions and has called for further strengthening and consolidation of Hindu voters in Rajasthan by engaging with these caste groups.

This was the reason that Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw participated in the Brahmin Mahapanchayat while the then BJP Rajasthan unit chief Satish Poonia took part in the Jat Mahakumbh recently. 

The BJP leaders are understood to have reached out to community leaders participating in these meetings and have ensured them that their communities' demands will be looked into with a sympathetic view when the party’s government is formed in Rajasthan, sources said.

Though the BJP is against holding such caste-based events, it cannot be seen as avoiding participating in these events by various communities. Hence the need to send senior party leaders to these events to placate community leaders, sources pointed out.  

The party hopes for a consolidated Hindu vote bank as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a third term in 2024.

The BJP- Rashtriya Loktantrik Party alliance secured all 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan in 2019.

This completely reversed the Assembly polls' outcome as the BJP was only able to secure 75 out of 200 seats in the state Assembly polls, losing the crucial state to the Congress which was able to secure 99 seats. 

The BJP had also successfully secured all 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan in the 2014 general elections, a record that the saffron unit wants to repeat in 2024.      

Why is Congress backing caste rallies?

The BJP believes that the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress, which is under tremendous pressure over deteriorating law and order and corruption issues, is fueling such rallies by caste-based groups. The grand old party hopes to split the votes of important caste groups and ensure that they do not vote en bloc for the BJP.

Under prevailing circumstances, wherein the Congress has been embattled in dealing with the feud between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot, the BJP hopes that it can easily wrest the border state back from the grand old party. 

However, the Congress is understood to be working on a formula to create various divisions amongst the Hindu communities in the state in an effort to make the journey a tough one for the BJP, sources said.  

The Jat and Brahmin communities are being nudged to ask for better representation and sops for themselves. This is also aiding in creating an atmosphere of mistrust between various communities, which is helping the Congress in attaining its goal, sources added.

Comprising about 15 per cent of the state’s population, Jats influence the poll outcome in about 50 of the 200 Assembly seats. While Brahmins are about 8-10 per cent of the state’s population and are largely concentrated in cities, holding sway on about 35 of these seats.

The BJP is trying hard to ensure that it keeps the various Hindu castes and communities engaged and away from the Congress. And installation of a saffron government in Rajasthan would also help it in achieving its 2024 dream.