Caste, not development, swings votes in Rajasthan’s Jatland

Caste and personal preferences take precedence over issues such as development and performance in the Jatdominated parts of Rajasthan when it comes to voting, though many people rue that the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government has not done much for them in the past five years.

The Shekhawati region has seen little development for a long time, and the tenure of this government has been no different. Bad roads are the norm, with very few exceptions. Lack of employment is a common woe among the youth, but issues such as the Rafale deal don’t find much resonance here.

“Narendra Modi and Amit Shah do not get along with Vasundhara and tried two-three times to remove her,” said Prithvi Singh, a Jat businessman. “But whenever they did so, she fought back. They tried to make Gajendra Shekhawat the Rajasthan BJP president, but she opposed it. In this infighting, she just sat back and decided not to do anything much for the state.”


Singh said he will vote for the Congress on December 7.

Raje’s second tenure as chief minister has largely failed to impress people in this region, although some praised her for the loan waiver and the health welfare scheme.

“She gave a loan waiver of 50,000 to a farmer and I know of one family where three people have got this benefit. But despite getting 1,50,000 this family will vote for the Congress as it backs that party,” said Rafiq.

Many voters also mentioned the Bhamashah Swasthya Bima Yojana, under which a family gets health insurance of 3 lakh health per year.

Another local said Raje had given employment to many safai karamcharis in a decision that was implemented swiftly. “The vacancies were announced and applications invited. The candidates were chosen through a lottery,” he said.

The general perception is that the trend of voting out the incumbent in Rajasthan will continue in the upcoming election. Asked how the previous Congress government led by Ashok Gehlot was better, the people had no specific explanation. They said there was little development then as well.

People made no bones about the fact that they gave priority to the caste of the candidate, followed by accessibility and past performance. “Here the Jats are dominant and whoever they decide to support wins the election. But on some seats where both Congress and BJP have put up Jat candidates, the work of the candidate decides the vote,” a shopkeeper said.

BJP won four of the seven assembly seats in Jhunjhunu in 2013, but this time many in the district expect the Congress to win six. They said the contest in Mandaava, between Rita Chaudhary of the Congress and the BJP’s sitting MLA Narendra Kumar, is likely to be close.