Rajasthan assembly polls 2018: In Jhunjhunu, it’s all about community

JHUNJHUNU: Blood runs thicker in community than the party. Ask Ramesh Singh, a taxi driver waiting for passengers at Jhunjhunu bus stand, and he would tell you that he will vote for an independent Rajput candidate even though he has been pasting posters for BJP. Pasting posters fills the pocket, but the true calling is where the heart is. Here in the Shekhawati region, the heart is firmly with the community.

The fact that Jats are strong here has prompted the major parties to prop up candidates from that community, which has raised fears of division. “I have no such fears,” Brijendra Singh Ola of Congress, the sitting MLA, told TOI on Tuesday. “Thirty-six communities will vote for me.”


Son of the late Sishram Ola, Brijendra is boosted by the fact that his father’s bete noir Sumitra Singh is now on his side. The former BJP strong lady is also a Jat, like Ola. Does that mean consolidation of votes in Congress’ favour? Not quite, warns an old hand. “Sumitra Singh might have tilted towards Congress but her followers have been told to vote as they choose.” Ola himself does not think Sumitra Singh will improve his vote bank much. “I have enough followers of my own. I will just take my father’s legacy forward.”

Sumitra’s angst against her former party is that it gave ticket to a ‘parachute’ candidate Rajendra Bhamboo, another Jat, who recently switched over from Congress. “It is rumoured that Bhamboo bought the BJP ticket,” Sandip Sihag, who works for a transport company, said. He is a Jat and will vote for a candidate of his community, but not either of the bigwigs. “My vote will got to Bablu Choudhary (an independent),” he declares unhesitatingly.

Bablu maybe an unknown name outside Jhunjhunu, but he has made quite a name for himself here. Apparently he was the biggest crowd-puller here during chief minister Vasundhara Raje’s Gaurav Yatra and had expected a BJP ticket. Ignored by the ruling party, he is contesting as an independent.

“If Bablu can pull the Muslim votes, he will win,” Sihag said. Some interesting number crunching will tell you that the Muslim community is indeed a major factor here. Of the two-and-a-half lakh voters in this constituency, Jats dominate with 62,000. Muslims are next at 40,000. “Bablu has been campaigning for the past one year and some of the Muslim voters are sure to back him,” Sihag said. “If he manages even 15,000 of those, Ola is in trouble.”

But what’s wrong with Ola? “Doesn’t do much,” is what Mukesh Saini says. As such, independents have traditionally been well accepted in this belt.

Then there is the independent Rajput contestant Yashvardhan Singh. “The difference between me and others is that I am talking about development and not indulging in mud-slinging,” Yashvardhan told TOI. “People appreciate this difference.” However, he too admitted that eventually it might all boil down to caste. The general feeling in Jhunjhunu is that Yashvardhan has been hoisted by the Congress to break away BJP’s Rajput votes. Yashvardhan would not agree, but 21,000 Rajput votes are significant enough to make a dent on either side.

Woolen caps are testimony of winter’s arrival in Shekhawati. However, with the election heat strong in the air, the chill is yet to be felt.