Achi news desk-
BJP leaders – including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah – who in their earlier campaign asked people to vote for the BJP hattrick appeared to have toned down the rhetoric.
Large numbers of electorates are clearly a sign of a different tone this time, and it seems that BJP leaders are beginning to realize that visions of a clean expanse of Rajasthan can only be a mirage.
The state is polling for 12 seats – Jaipur, Jaipur (rural), Sriganganagar (SC), Bikaner (SC), Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Alwar, Nagaur, Bharatpur (SC), Dausa (ST) and Karauli-Dholpur (SC) — in the first stage, on 19 April. In half a dozen of these seats, the Congress and other INDIA block parties are giving nightmares to the BJP.
The BJP has been trying to cash in on Hindutva, the Ram Mandir issue and Modi’s personal charisma; but now it seems that its leaders are suddenly on the defensive and the electorate’s interest seems to be captured by INDIA’s allies instead.
The people don’t seem to have liked the sound of the BJP’s hat trick and clean sweep here. In Churu, Dausa, Nagaur, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Sriganganagar and Jaipur (rural) in particular, the unity shown by the INDIA block has appeared convincing.
In Churu, the Congress even managed to convince sitting BJP MP Rahul Kaswan, who joined the grand old party after the BJP denied him a ticket. The Congress has put him up as a candidate against the BJP’s new nominee, paralympic gold medalist Devendra Jhajharia. Kaswan already has the support of the Jat community, although his opponent is also one of them. The BJP leaders have effectively ensured Jhajharia’s defeat in Churu.
