Between the Congress and BJP, close to 20 seats have been granted to Gurjjar candidates — the Congress has granted tickets to 11 Gurjjars, the BJP to nine. Incidentally, of the 11 Congress candidates, only one will contest against a BJP Gurjjar candidate. Neither party was prepared to set up a direct Gurjjar versus Gurjjar fight.

Senior Congress leaders believe that the severe police action against protestors will work in their favour. On a recent visit to Jaipur, senior leader Kapil Sibal said, “The BJP government here has been an oppressive regime.” Among the Congress’s Gurjjar’s candidates is Atar Singh Bhadana, who was expelled from the BJP alongwith Gunjal in 2007 for “anti-party activities”.

If the BJP is worried about the Congress candidates, it is not showing it. BJP vice president Arun Chaturvedi says, “Col. Bainsla, arguably the most powerful Gurjjar leader, is with the BJP and is satisfied with the party as we passed the bill granting reservation to Gurjjars. The bill is awaiting approval from the Rajasthan Governor.”

Col. Bainsla’s influence within the BJP became obvious after the BJP doled out tickets to three candidates that Bainsla had insisted upon. BJP leaders also believe Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s daughter-in-law, Niharika Singh, who is a Gurjjar, will play a role. “We wanted Madam Raje’s daughter-in-law to contest... However, she drew huge crowds when she addressed public meetings in Ajmer and Bhilwada,” says a Gurjjar leader.

Senior Gurjjar leaders say they are dissatisfied with the Congress’s selection of Gujjar candidates. Says one, “The BJP has given tickets to local Gurjjar leaders, while most of the Congress leaders are fighting in relatively new constituencies.” Congress candidate Rajendra Singh Biduri from Begu in Chittor district actually hails from New Delhi, while Bhadana, a sitting MLA from Bayana, will now fight from Nagar in Bharatpur district. But according to Sachin Pilot, Congress MP from Dausa, “Gurjjar-dominated seats in Congress areas were shuffled in the delimitation exercise”. The Congress, he says, has attempted to bring in new faces in these areas.

... contd.