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Journalism of Courage
In Chittorgarh’s Gandhi Nagar square, Gopal Purabia is having a tough time convincing his customers to vote for the BJP. Purabia who runs the “Namo tea stall” at the square is a BJP worker and a Narendra Modi fan. So are his customers. But they are rooting for rebel candidate and sitting MLA Chandrabhan Singh Akya who has been overlooked as the party tried to make accommodations after fielding Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari from a seat in Jaipur.
As the conversation at the tea stall illustrates, this has put Chittorgarh, one of the BJP’s safe seats, in jeopardy. Purabia keeps telling his customers to vote based on ideology but not just them, even his brother refuses to listen to him. Ratanlal Kumawat, another committed BJP worker from the nearby village of Ghatiawali, expresses his frustration. “No one is thinking about the country … people are getting swayed by emotions.” But he also acknowledges Akya’s popularity.
After fielding Kumari from the Vidyadhar Nagar constituency, the BJP accommodated its three-term MLA Narpat Singh Rajvi, the son-in-law of former Vice-President, and ex-Rajasthan CM, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, in Chittorgarh, which comes under the Lok Sabha constituency of state BJP president C P Joshi. After being denied his constituency in the first list, Rajvi had hit out at the party, calling the decision “shocking” and saying it was a “way to defame and hurt the legacy” of his father-in-law.
Rajvi is no stranger to Chittorgarh though. He won the elections from there in 1993 and 2003 before being moved to Jaipur in 2008. But that has not stopped Akya, who has won from Chittorgarh the last two terms, from making a “local vs outsider” pitch during campaigning. “I was denied a ticket because C P Joshi saw me as a threat to his political future. I am confident of winning as an Independent because people are with me for the work that I have done for them in the past 10 years,” he tells The Indian Express.
The rebel candidate has launched a whirlwind campaign. His supporters, many of them former BJP workers, go around town on jeeps, waving pressure cookers — his poll symbol — and shouting, “Phul, haath rehne do, cooker ki seeti bajne do (Don’t go for the lotus or the hand, let the cooker’s whistle make noise)”. At his public meetings, Akya is weighed in a balance against an equivalent amount of sweets and fruits, which are then distributed among people. “We are the real BJP,” claims his campaign manager Anil Inani.
Rajvi, however, says the rebel candidate is not a factor and people will vote for the party and him. “Akya will come third,” he claims.
The Congress, meanwhile, is hoping to benefit from this rift within the BJP. It has fielded two-term MLA Surendra Singh Jadawat, who won the constituency in 1998 and 2008. “Akya is going to cut BJP votes. We have committed Congress voters. That will help us win,” says a local Congress leader.
What people are saying
The constituency, famous for Chittorgarh Fort, is dominated by Rajputs and Brahmins, followed by the tribal community, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Scheduled Castes (SCs). Akya’s support seems to cut across the caste divide.
Udai Lal who runs a milk parlour in the town, says he likes Akya because he is large-hearted. “I am a BJP supporter. I always vote for Modi. But what the BJP is doing is not good. You should not cut the tickets of good candidates. The idea of fielding MPs in Assembly polls will sink the BJP,” says Lal, a Brahmin.
Ratan Lal Singh, a Rajput who paints houses for a living, says this time the rebel will win. “He has done a lot for the youth and always stands by the people in need. Whenever anyone needs anything, he just opens his purse. Once people went to him saying the village was poor and had no utensils and he gave Rs 3 lakh from his pocket.”
Vishal Dhakad, who is from the OBC community, speaks with great excitement when asked about the elections. “All votes are going to Chandrabhan. Uska vyavahar hai logon se (He talks to people). You should have seen him going to file his nomination. More than 15,000 people turned up without being asked to. Go to his office and he will meet you with so much affection and respect. Ask him to get anything done and he immediately acts,” he says.
Mukul Saxena, a retired government servant in town, however, says he will continue to vote for the BJP. “The vote is for Modi. Gehlot is wearing a skull cap in public functions. If Hindus do not unite, we will be finished,” he adds.
In the constituency’s Adivasi belt, however, Congress appears to have sizeable support. “Everyone in our village votes for Congress. So we will vote for them again,” says Rameshlal, a Bhil from Gadri Khera village.
