On his 300th birth anniversary, Maharaja Suraj Mal Jat of Bharapur has become the new poster boy of the Rajasthan BJP, with the party organising a rally describing him the ‘Hindu Dharm Rakshak’.

Splashed across the city are posters of the Jat rally that the party is holding on Wednesday to mark the birth anniversary of the Maharaja. And sharing space with him on these posters is Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. With elections round the corner, the BJP has initiated a series of rallies and programmes in the state, targeted at individual communities. Recently, the party held a rally for Rajputs in the state capital, getting an overwhelming response. Rallies for the minority community are also in the pipeline.

The Jat rally is the second such gathering to be held by the BJP, and over two lakh Jats from across the state are expected to participate. The BJP is hoping to cash in on the popularity of Suraj Mal, who fought the Mughals in the 17th century. Though the party is organising the gathering, it insists that it is not a political function. “Maharaja Suraj Mal is a historical figure and not a new-found hero. There was no special occasion to celebrate his heroism earlier. This time around it’s his 300th birth anniversary, which is a good enough reason for such an event,” says Rampal Jat, state BJP general secretary, who is also part of the in-house committee organising this event. However, while the BJP is busy preparing for a maha rally in his name, the descendant of Suraj Mal, Vishvendra Singh, who is also the Bharatpur MP, is keeping away from the event.

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