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Journalism of Courage
With the Rajasthan Assembly polls just months away, the Jananayak Janata Party (JJP) is all set to make an entry into the desert state’s politics and field its candidates in the elections. The party is a coalition partner in the BJP-led Haryana government.
While the JJP announced its intention of contesting the elections several months ago, lately it has become more active, with frequent visits from senior leaders and induction of new faces in the party. Earlier this week, the party inducted Rita Singh, the daughter-in-law of stalwart Congress leader Narayan Singh and the wife of incumbent Congress MLA from Danta Ramgarh, Virendra Singh. A former Zila Pramukh, Rita’s entry into the JJP is expected to change political equations in Sikar district, where Narayan Singh’s family holds substantial clout. The JJP has made Rita Singh the Rajasthan president of its women’s wing.
After joining the JJP, Rita avoided commenting directly on how her entry to the party would damage the Congress and instead spoke about how she wanted to work for farmers and women. JJP president Ajay Singh Chautala made it clear that his party, which is in alliance with the BJP in Haryana, hopes to contest specifically those seats where the BJP has traditionally been weak. The main target of the JJP are districts in the Shekhawati region such as Sikar, which has a high Jat population.
In recent months, Haryana Deputy CM and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala has been consistently visiting Rajasthan and participating in social events, many targeted towards the Jat community.
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), the parent party from which JJP was created as a splinter group, has contested elections in the past from Rajasthan. Ajay Singh Chautala himself contested and won elections in the past, including Danta Ramgarh in 1990 on a Janata Dal seat. His grandfather and former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal won the Sikar Lok Sabha constituency in 1989.
