Zoom News : Nov 16, 2023, 04:00 PM
Rajasthan Election: Not only Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are dominated by caste politics, but Rajasthan is also confined to caste politics. Caste is such a factor in elections, which also seems to dominate development. Even before the announcement of assembly elections, different castes and social organizations had shown their strength in Jaipur and raised the demand for maximum representation, from which the caste politics of Rajasthan can be understood. This is the reason why Congress and BJP have tried social engineering through candidates, but this time both the parties have tried to establish a different caste arithmetic from 2018.Before the Rajasthan Assembly elections, caste organizations like Jat, Gurjar, Brahmin, Rajput, Saini, Vaishya, Vishwakarma, Kumawat had organized Mahapanchayat on different dates in the capital Jaipur. All these organizations had made only one demand from all the political parties including Congress and BJP that maximum tickets should be given to their community. He will support whichever political party gives the maximum number of tickets in the state. Considering the pressure politics of social and caste organizations and the political power of their votes, Congress and BJP have played a gamble.Keeping in mind their core vote bank, Congress and BJP have given more importance to those castes whose trust can be easily won. In this way, Congress has given special focus on Jat-Dalit-Tribal in Rajasthan, while BJP has made a bet to attract Brahmin-Rajput and tribal votes. However, both the parties have adopted a strategy of social engineering this time, different from the previous elections. In such a situation, it remains to be seen whose bet is successful.Congress's social engineeringThis time in Rajasthan, Congress has entered the election field with a new social engineering. Congress has fielded the maximum number of 36 candidates from the Jat community whereas in 2018 it had fielded 31 Jat candidates. Congress has secondly focused on the votes of the tribal community and has given them 33 tickets, whereas in 2018 it had fielded 29 candidates. Like last time, Congress has fielded candidates from Dalit community on 34 seats. This time Congress has fielded 62 people from the OBC community whereas in the last elections this number was 50. Apart from this, 13 tickets have been given to other castes including Gurjar included in the special backward class. This time, Congress has fielded candidates from Dalit and tribal community from reserved seats as well as general seats. In this way, Congress has written the script of returning to power through a strong social engineering.BJP's caste politicsBJP is making every political move to return to power in Rajasthan. Keeping in mind its core vote bank in the selection of candidates, Congress, like the last election, this time also expressed maximum trust on Brahmins and Rajputs and has given more or less the same number of tickets as in 2018. In this way, BJP has given tickets to 20 Brahmin candidates, whereas in 2018 it had given tickets to 23 candidates. 25 candidates from Rajput community have been fielded whereas in 2018 there were 26 candidates. This time BJP has fielded more candidates from the tribal community than last time. BJP has given tickets to 30 tribals whereas in the last elections it had fielded 28 candidates.Political equation of RajasthanWhichever party is successful in solving the caste equation in Rajasthan, power is in its hands. In Rajasthan, 89 percent population is Hindu, 9 percent Muslim and 2 percent people of other religions. The population of Scheduled Castes is 18 percent, population of Scheduled Tribes is 13 percent, population of Jats is 12 percent, population of Gurjars and Rajputs is 9-9 percent, population of Brahmins and Meenas is 7-7 percent. In this context, it becomes very important for any party to cultivate OBC votes to come to power. This is the reason why even though Congress and BJP campaign in the name of development and public welfare, tickets are distributed only on the basis of caste.