Congress, BJP race neck & neck in Rajsamand district, election battle no cakewalk for both | Jaipur News
Of the four assembly seats in the district-Rajsamand, Nathdwara, Kumbhalgarh and Bhim-BJP and Congress won two each in the 2018 elections.BJP bagged Rajsamand and Kumbhalgarh while Congress claimed Nathdwara and Bhim. In the upcoming state elections, Congress hopes to cash in on the infighting within the saffron party in the district.
BJP’s decision to field Kiran Maheswari’s daughter and sitting Rajsamand MLA Deepti Maheshwari again has sparked a rebellion within its ranks. In the by-poll held in 2021 after Kiran died of Covid complications, Deepti contested on a BJP ticket and won.
The newly built BJP office in Rajsamand, which was ransacked during a violent protest by the supporters of other contenders for the party ticket, still bears the scars. The party suspended four top leaders of the district-Ganesh Paliwal, Dinesh Badala, Mahendra Kothari and Ashok Ranka-for the vandalism by their supporters. Paliwal threatened to contest as an independent candidate to defeat Deepti. His supporters say he will support BJP even if he wins as an independent.
“Deepti Maheshwari was given the BJP ticket for the by-poll on the condition that she would complete her mother’s remaining term, and not beyond that. The party assured senior leaders here that Deepti will not be repeated in future and had asked them to prepare for the assembly polls in 2023,” said a BJP leader.
Disgruntled BJP leaders call Deepti an “outsider” and “dynast” and say she became a BJP member only after being given the party ticket for the by-poll. “The Brahmin community has not been nominated by BJP in any of the three constituencies, Rajsamand, Nathdwara and Chittorgarh, where the party has a strong support base,” said a BJP leader.
Deepti rubbished the allegations. “My mother and my family have worked in the area for a long time. I am not aware of any assurance to the party functionaries during my nomination for the by-poll,” she said. “My renomination is the party’s decision. If I had not performed well after winning in 2021, the party would not have fielded me,” she added. Despite BJP’s weaknesses, Congress has no strong leader to take advantage of the situation here.
In Nathdwara, BJP has fielded Udaipur’s ex-royal Vishwaraj Singh Mewar against CP Joshi of Congress, a sitting MLA. Local BJP leaders are upset as they say a “non-party candidate” has once again been fielded. “In the 2018 polls, the party fielded Mahesh Pratap Singh, who had returned after spending 11 years in Congress. Before that, Kalyan Singh Chauhan, who was a Congress turncoat, was fielded, but he got elected for two consecutive terms and died in office in February 2018. Party workers who toil for the party day and night are upset again,” said a BJP leader.
Congress in the district remains faction ridden and does not even have an office of the district Congress committee. The party’s leaders and functionaries operate from their own offices. “Congress has not promoted any strong leader here, which is why everyone is wasting energy and pulling down others,” said a Congress leader.
Congress now controls a municipal council in Rajsamand district after 27 years owing to the defection of eight BJP councillors. “Congress has a good chance in Rajsamand this time as BJP is in disarray,” said municipal chairman Ashok Tak.
