Anger of Rajputs may worsen the already bad situation in Rajasthan for BJP

New Delhi, Oct 18: Woes of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is far from getting over as the party that is facing wrath of people is magnified with former BJP MLA Manvendra Singh joining the Congress. The chief minister was not only under attack for alleged opposition of appointment of Gajendra Singh Shekhawat as minister in the Modi government and killing of a Rajput gangster.

Manvendra Singh, son of former external affairs minister Jaswant Singh, joining the Congress will have its impact in the Marwad region of the state that included Badmer, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur districts of the state as most of the people belonging to Rajpur community are with the family of Jaswant Singh besides Sindhi and Muslims community supporting the family.

There are certain Assembly constituencies in Badmer district where Rajput Sindhi and Muslims play an important role. There are eight MLAs belonging to Rajput community in the Marwad region while there are total 26 Rajput MLAs in the state Assembly. So Manvendra will now help the Congress to win over Rajput votes for the Congress in the state. There are total 7 per cent Rajput in the state.

He has already started visited Rajput-dominated areas when he had gone to Bikaner and Jodhpur recently. Actually the community is not happy with the chief minister of the state and the Congress does not have any recognizable face from the community in the state. But with Manvendra joining the Congress, influence of the party and equation in Jaisalmer, Badmer, Jodhpur and Nagore will change making things difficult for the BJP.

Sources said that anger of a section of Rajput community due to encounter of Anand Pal belonging to the Rawana Rajput community. The BJP was trying to somehow placated it but nothing much has been done. The community has withered away from the BJP's fold following a spate of unsavoury standoffs in recent times.

Not only Rawana Rajputes but Royal Rajputs like Diya Kumari, who is also a legislator from BJP opened a front against the government forcing Vasundhara Raje to unseal her palace. But Rajputs, who backed the royal family, took it as an attack on the entire community. A number of social organisations have pledged support to Congress sending warning signals to the incumbent BJP.

Besides all this president of Rajput Sabha of Rajasthan Giriraj Lotwara said that the community would oppose BJP in the coming elections while Rajput Arkashan Manch among other social organisations opposed Raje's poll yatra demanding quota in jobs and education as promised by BJP in its previous rule. The impact of government role in dealing with Padmawat is also visible in the state. So the BJP is trying to handle the community careful with Royal Rajputs still with them.