Gujjar stir puts Raje, BJP in a difficult position

Jaipur, June 4 (UNI) As the agitation by Gujjars for Scheduled Tribe status in Rajasthan enters its second week, the ruling BJP in the state and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje seem to be in a spot.

The Chief Minister seems to have misread the Gujjars' resolve to persist with the agitation, which has so far claimed 25 lives.

Ms Raje's rivals in the party, who were not vocal earlier, are engaged in political parleys to make the central BJP leadership see through her alleged failure, BJP sources said.

Her detractors allege that inspite of Gujjars' warning of a major showdown if their demands were not met, the Chief Minister went off to the US to receive the UN's Women Together Award and was out of the state for more than 20 days.

The sources said there are many who feel that Ms Raje may have to go if the BJP wants to make a comeback in the state. She has many rivals in the party with Education minister Ghanshyam Tiwari and Industry minister Narpat Singh Razvi already opposing her on Special Economic Zones and other matters.

As the agitation threatens to turn into a caste conflict, with Meenas who already have ST status in the state adamant on not letting Gujjars have their way, the BJP is in a fix as they started it all during the 1999 general elections by promising Jats OBC status, if elected.

Jats, disillusioned with the Congress, voted en masse for BJP then increasing its vote share. And as promised Jats were given the OBC status.

This became the turning point in the fragile caste equation of Rajasthan as Jats' OBC status threatened Gujjars, who were till now the most influential OBCs.

But with Jats in OBC list cornering a major chunk of the benefits, the deprived Gujjars demanded ST status from the then Congress government in Rajasthan.

Taking advantage of this opportunity during the 2003 Assembly elections, Ms Raje promised the Gujjars what they wanted at rally after rally.

During her three-and-half years of rule, the Gujjars reminded Ms Raje of their demands several times, which she apparently ignored.

The BJP failed to read between the lines and is now trapped in its own game, with the influential Meenas, who form 12 percent of the population, ready for a counter-agitation.

Caught in the simmering caste cauldron, BJP cannot afford to lose the favour of either of the communities.

Meenas, who dominate the state's bureaucracy, have threatened protests if the recommendation for ST status for Gujjars is sent to the Centre. State Food and Supplies minister Kirori Lal Meena admitted that the government did not make arrangements to resolve the crisis.

All 31 Meena MLAs have threatened to walk out if Ms Raje bows to the Gujjars' demands, leaving her with the prospect of losing the votes of both communities.

Top BJP leaders, worried over the situation, directed Ms Raje to meet and negotiate with Col Kirori Singh Bainsla, who is spearheading the Gujjar agitation, to defuse the crisis.

Ms Raje did not come to the negotiating table until Saturday.

But with the protests now spreading to Delhi and the NCR, the BJP is in a tight spot.

This is not the first time that Ms Raje has put the BJP leadership in a fix. The earlier occasion was the farmers' agitation in the Indira Gandhi Canal Project area, demanding their due share of water. One farmer had died in police firing.

UNI