Rajasthan sees the rise of young leaders outside BJP-Congress realm

Jaipur: Rajasthan’s political landscape is buzzing with the emergence of two young, brash leaders who have carved out a niche for themselves independently and outside the domain of two major parties—the BJP and Congress. 

Ravindra Singh Bhati and Rajkumar Roat are giving sleepless nights to seasoned politicians from the bigger parties and have ensured triangular contests in Barmer and Banswara-Dungarpur constituencies, respectively.

Ravindra Singh Bhati (26) first fought the Sheo Assembly constituency in December 2023 as an Independent and won hands down. He wanted a ticket from the BJP, which was denied at the last moment.

In fact, the BJP's Swaroop Singh Kharra came in fourth after Bhati, who won over another Independent Fateh Khan by over 3,950 votes. In the process, he also defeated six-time Congress MLA Ameen Khan. Having defeated veteran politicians, Bhati sealed his coming of age in Barmer politics. 

Bhati has decided to go alone despite advice from all quarters that he shouldn’t fight without a party symbol, as it is not easy. But he went ahead, keeping in mind that he made a record of sorts by winning the presidency of Marwar’s largest university—Jai Narayan Vyas University—as an Independent. 

He will now fight the Barmer Lok Sabha, turning it into a triangular contest with Union Minister Kailash Choudhury from the BJP and Ummedaram Beniwal from Congress.

Bhati, a Rajput with a law degree, has a huge social media presence and an enormous fan following. His nomination rally saw his supporters converge in huge numbers, which has made other parties anxious. He is now often referred to as the “Modi of Marwar” and fondly addressed as Ravsa. He expects support from all 36 communities in Barmer, which is dominated by Jat, Dalit, Rajput, and Muslim communities. 

On another end, in the extreme south district of Banswara, another young politician Rajkumar Roat (32) is making headlines.

He is a two-time MLA from Chorasi. In 2018, he became an MLA from the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), but just six months ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections, he founded his party, the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP), and won for the second straight time.

Of the eight Assembly segments in the Banswara-Dungarpur Lok Sabha constituency, the BAP won three seats or came second in at least four of them, surprising the bigger parties. Roat defeated the BJP candidate Sushil Katara by a huge margin of 69,166 votes from the Chorasi Assembly seat. He garnered 53.92 per cent of the vote share.  

Roat is now a Lok Sabha aspirant from the Banswara-Dungarpur constituency. Congress wants to tie up with the BAP, although it has declared Arvind Damor as its candidate from Banswara. Congress’s most influential leader, Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, who switched to the BJP, is now the BJP candidate from Banswara. 

Roat, who says he is fighting for preserving their cultural identity, which is constitutionally provided, says both Congress and the BJP have ignored the tribal cause and that his party would ensure that they earn their deserved rights with interest. Roat is also popular on social media and is often seen participating in folk dances and playing indigenous games with his supporters. 

Sunny Sebastian, a senior political analyst, told DH: “The emergence of two youth politicians who have established themselves as leaders with a dedicated fan following, both offline and on social media and also outside the realm of Congress and BJP, is something this bipolar state should look into seriously. Youth does attract crowds, and the Assembly results have shown their popularity gets translated into votes as well.”