Signs of discontent

Published : May 07, 2004 00:00 IST

T.K. RAJALAKSHMI in Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Churu

IF its decisive victory in the December 2003 Assembly elections is an indication to go by, the Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan seems to be in a position to perform well in the Lok Sabha elections too. The BJP currently holds 16 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the State. It is justifiably felt that the Congress(I) may have to struggle hard to retain its tally of nine seats. The BJP's Sikar district president Mahesh Sharma said the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee would be the focus of the party's campaign in the State. "Atalji's image and the work that the NDA did in the last four years will be projected," he says.

However, this does not obfuscate the fact that both parties are vying hard for the vote of the Jat community, which is spread all over the State. Seven seats each have been given to members of this community by both parties. However, a close look at a section of this community would reveal that neither party is thought about in lofty terms. In fact, there is resentment over unfulfilled promises and an acknowledgment that the real issues have been sidelined. In Sikar as well as other Shekhawati districts such as Jhunjhunu and Churu, the water table has been falling alarmingly. There is no system for rainwater harvesting and, as a result, almost 52 per cent of the surface water in the State goes waste. With the region entirely dependent on tubewells for irrigation, availability of power is an imperative. Instead of increasing the power supply, farmers were booked for stealing electricity. Farmers Frontline spoke to said that 40 per cent of the State's farmers were not eligible for Kisan credit cards. The small size of the landholdings was a reason.

Wheat farmers in the region are worried about the standing crop, which they say may not be good owing to erratic power supply. Arjun Choudhary, a farmer, said: "Government employees and farmers were responsible for [Congress-I Chief Minister] Ashok Gehlot's defeat, but we find that this government is no better. Before the elections, the BJP promised us 16 hours of power supply. But we did not get even eight hours' supply in the past one and a half months, which was crucial for the wheat crop." In the Chomu Assembly constituency in the Sikar Lok Sabha seat, from where Union Minister Subhash Mahariya is contesting on the BJP ticket, the farmers are angry with the State government. "Gehlot lost because he did not attend to the power problems of the farmers. Mahariya has not done anything for Sikar," says Suhalal Saini. Mahariya is pitted against Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (I) president Narain Singh and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and legislator from Dhod Amra Ram.

In Mehrauli village in the Sikar constituency, residents alleged that Mahariya and Narain Singh had never visited the area. Another point they made augurs badly for the two - that the performance of the candidate counts more than national issues. "We look at the candidate, not at Vajpayee or Sonia Gandhi. The foreign origin issue is no issue for us. But tell us, how can we feel good when there are no government facilities here. We removed the Congress(I) because we did not feel good," said Gopal Singh, a government employee. He says that Mehrauli does not even have a proper hospital.

Sikar is the second largest producer of onions after Pune in Maharashtra. But there are no cold storage facilities. Farmers often have to sell their produce at throwaway prices. The cost per acre of investment for the crop works out to about Rs.5,000 as it is a labour-intensive crop. Barring Amra Ram, no other politician has found it necessary to raise the issue of cold storage facilities. Said Navrang Singh, a farmer in Rasheedpura, Sikar: "We told our MLA Amra Ram to raise the issue in the State Assembly. He did it several times but there was no reaction from the government."

The elections in Rajasthan will also decide the political future of the children, spouses and relatives of many a BJP and Congress(I) leader. While the Congress(I) nominee in Dausa is the late leader Rajesh Pilot's son Sachin Pilot, the BJP nominee in Jhalawar is Dushyant Singh, son of Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje Scindia. Finance Minister Jaswant Singh's son Manavendra Singh is contesting from Barmer and former BJP president Bangaru Laxman's wife Susheela Laxman is the party candidate for Jalore.

Sign in to Unlock member-only benefits!
  • Bookmark stories to read later.
  • Comment on stories to start conversations.
  • Subscribe to our newsletters.
  • Get notified about discounts and offers to our products.
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment