Kota (South) turns into battlefield

Parties play Brahmin card to woo voters

With election day fast approaching, Kota (South) constituency has turned into a battlefield as the BJP and Congress candidates are going all out to woo the voters. 

Unlike the previous Assembly election, the parties have played the Brahmin card by fielding Shivkant Nandwana (Congress) and Sandeep Sharma (BJP), who do not face any opposition within their respective parties.

Kota (South) comprises around 2.4 lakh voters. The Brahmin and Vaishya community constitutes 20 per cent of votes each followed by the minority community which has 15 per cent vote share. 

The constituency is marked by strong presence of the RSS, which is one of the reasons why the BJP has been winning the seat for the last 35 years, except in 1998 when Congress candidate Shanti Dhariwal bagged the seat.

“Strong presence of the RSS and appeasement of rebels gives extra edge to the BJP. Brahmin and Vaishya are two major communities which are seen as the traditional vote bank of the BJP in this constituency,” said Mahesh Sharma, a veteran leader. 

Om Birla won the last Assembly election by a margin of over 50,000 votes. During the MP elections, he did not campaign even for a single day but won by a margin of 60,000 votes,” he added.

Local party leaders informed that BJP rebel Manmohan Joshi has also been appeased. Joshi has extended full support to party candidate.

Interestingly, the BJP and Congress have adopted a similar strategy in selecting their candidates. 

Not only do both the candidates belong to the same community, but both are young and have been president of Kota university. Both are local faces and are active in community and local politics. 

In such a situation, the locals feel that both the Congress and BJP may enter into a neck-to-neck fight only if the voting percentage remains less than 50 per cent.

“The 15 per cent minority votes are likely to go with the Congress. Votes of other castes will get divided. In such a situation lesser the voting brighter becomes the chances of the Congress,” said a local Congress leader.

While the BJP has deputed 21 senior leaders and Cabinet ministers to monitor the elections, senior Congress leaders like Shanti Dhariwal, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and PCC chief Sachin Pilot, too, are doing roadshows and holding frequent rallies.  

The BJP is contesting the elections on development agenda and works carried out by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in the last past 8 months. While Congress leaders are focusing on important schemes and decisions taken by the Gehlot regime.

The Congress, for the first time, has fielded a Brahmin candidate. Besides the entire party, including local leaders, are working hard, leaving aside their internal differences.