Family rival Hanuman Beniwal makes it challenging for turncoat Jyoti Mirdha

Jyoti Mirdha and Hanuman Beniwal faced each other in Nagaur in 2019, but this time the contest has a twist. The plain-speaking Beniwal, president of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, was a part of BJP-led NDA in 2019 who defeated Congress candidate Mirdha. Beniwal, however, walked out of NDA in 2020 over the farm legislations and later vociferously opposed the Agniveer scheme. Considered close to Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot, Beniwal is now an INDIA bloc candidate fighting a tough battle. Mirdha, on the other hand, is now with BJP. Her grandfather Nathuram Mirdha was an influential Congressman who represented the seat six times and was the only MP to be elected from the party in 1977 during the Janata Party wave.

Like the rest of Rajasthan, caste is the main factor. The saying goes that when two Jats clash, the community votes for the one who would be more effective in representing the community. "Every community wants their own powerful leader," Mirdha said, brushing aside the suggestion that her gender was an issue. "Jats are a progressive community. They educate their daughters. I have never felt any less a leader because I am a woman. Also, they have known my family for generations. They know how we have worked for them."

Jats are known to be traditional Congress voters in Rajasthan. With the party entrusting the PCC to Govind Singh Dotasra, a Jat hailing from Sikar district, the community seems to have moved closer to Congress. BJP's opposition to the recent farmers protests has added palpable anger among Jats, who are largely dependent on agriculture. Beniwal does not mince words: "I walked out of NDA and people here saw how I have supported farmers. They know who will give voice to their demands. On the other side is a candidate who could not utilise her MPLAD funds. I have spent them now." Close aides of Beniwal say the two candidates have a family rivalry: It is alleged that Beniwal's father Ramdev Choudhury, an MLA from Nagur's Mundwa assembly segment in 1977 and 1985, was denied a ticket because of Nathuram.

Going by last yearend's assembly elections, Beniwal may have the upper hand. Out of the eight assembly segments, BJP won only Jayal and Nawa. However, assembly segment-wise arithmetic may be too simplistic in a parliamentary election where the extent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity cannot be fully gauged.