Battle between Gehlot’s son, Modi man

Often called the “sun city”, both the mercury and the election heat are going up in Jodhpur.

In the fray are two sons of the soil, Vaibhav Gehlot, son of chief minister Ashok Gehlot, and sitting MP and Union minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, a favourite of BJP president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The fight is neck and neck between the two candidates, who spent almost 12-14 hours a day, travelling from one village to another, promising to solve the issue of water and development.

While this is an electoral debut for Vaibhav Gehlot (39), Gajendra Singh (51) first became an MP in 2014, and was inducted into the central council of ministers in 2017.

Jodhpur is traditionally a Congress bastion, with the party having won it eight times in the past, while the BJP has won it four times.

The stakes are high for both parties and they are taking the fight very seriously. Ashok Gehlot had been the MP from Jodhpur five times and the MLA four times, which accounts for the Congress support.

However, Shekhawat is a formidable opponent, with an RSS background.

In fact, the BJP wanted him to be Vasundhara Raje’s replacement in Rajasthan as the chief minister and party state chief.

Vaibhav was seen accompanied by several Congress leaders and influential community leaders during his campaigns.

His father is yet to campaign for him. However, on the nomination day the chief minister and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot were seen sharing a stage with Vaibhav.

The Congress is confident of winning the parliamentary seat as the party had won six out of the eight Assembly seats under it four months ago in the state elections.

“The Congress is set to repeat its victory in Jodhpur. Party cadre as well as the major communities are supporting Vaibhav. He has been visiting the constituency every year. People here treat him as a son of the soil,” Congress loyalist and hotelier Pawan Mehta told DH.

The BJP, on the other hand, feels that they have an edge as Shekhawat had won Jodhpur in the 2014 elections with a margin of 4 lakh votes, the highest in the state. “Not only the Rajput community (to which the BJP candidate belongs) but the entire RSS cadre is supporting Shekhawat. He has worked here for the last five years and gained the trust of the people, whereas for the Congress candidate, it is his first attempt,” Babu Lal Singh, a BJP loyalist, said.

Caste equation

The caste equation also plays a major role here.

The constituency is dominated by Rajputs, SCs, Muslims, Jats, Bishnois and Brahmins. While Shekhawat is a Rajput, the Congress is banking on Mali (Gehlot), Brahmin and Jat votes.

The Jodhpur seat will witness a high-voltage drama in the upcoming days as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a poll rally here on April 22.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is also set to address a rally in the constituency on April 23.