He is already losing the battle for Gurjjar headlines. From Sarsawa in UP’s Saharanpur, a little-known leader, Chaudhry Virendra Singh, has claimed them by announcing a bounty of Rs 5 crore on Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s head.

Resting under a tree, the ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ in the quintessential red turban looks at the sea of humanity that has held the railway line in Piloopura under siege. As men armed with lathis hop from one spot to another, showing their strength in numbers, he says dramatically, “Look at my men around. No one can move us till they agree to our demands. They are all Rocks of Gibraltar for you.”

Colonel Kirori Lal Bainsla’s agitation demanding reservation for the Gurjjar community may have brought life in some parts of Rajasthan to a halt, forcing the Vasundhara Raje government to initiate peace talks, but the ‘Rock of Gibraltar’, as he was nicknamed by his seniors in the Army, is losing ground.

Unlike during the agitation in Patoli last year, there are too many others running the agitation.

While Bainsla’s jeep, that carries him and his coterie of strategists who move closer to him when he talks to the media, continues to gather crowds of hundreds each time he decides to leave the cool shade of his corner, a cloud of suspicion and perception of betrayal continue to loom large.

“Colonel Bainsla is our leader, no doubt. But don’t think he is the only one this time. We all are in it and every move will be taken by the Gurjjar Samaj as we don’t want a repetition of the Patoli incident,” says Kunwar Singh, one of the coordinators of the agitation in Piloopura.

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