Parties hope to unlock Jat code
5 Feb 2015 4:31 AM IST
The deciding factor in rural Delhi is the sizeable electorate of the Jat community, which is enough to decide the fate of any candidate, irrespective of the political outfit he/she belongs to.
The rural areas have a different voting pattern in comparison to urban areas. In these areas, local issues always dominate as villagers need instant solutions to their problems.
The wave of Narendra Modi or Arvind Kejriwal is hardly visible in the Jat-dominated areas. The local issues like bad roads, drinking water, round the clock electricity for irrigation, better hospitals, availability of teachers in school, pension for senior citizens, better frequency of public transport etc are the most sought after demands of the villagers. It has also been noted that village panchayats exercise their diktat in favour of particular candidates and villagers follow the same.
On February 7, Modi government’s move to tweak the land acquisition act is likely to play a spoilsport for the party, which had won almost all the Jat-dominated seats in the December 4, 2013, Vidhan Sabha election. Keeping in view the Jat-dominated constituencies, all three major political outfits — Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress — are trying to woo the community assiduously for the Delhi assembly polls. Constituencies like Narela, Bawana, Mundaka, Nangloi Jat, Najafgarh, Kirari, Matiala, Bijwasan, Vikaspuri, Mehrauli and RK Puram have a sizable Jat community and sizable number of Dalits and other lower class voters.
Notably, these areas were the stronghold of the Congress as they were mostly elected till the 1990s during parliamentary elections. But, the BJP managed to make inroads into these rural areas in the early 1990s. The area flourished as a BJP bastion after Krishan Lal Sharma was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1996 defeating Congress’ old warhorse Sajjan Kumar.
A local Jat leader Sahib Singh Verma, who also became Chief Minister of Delhi, played a key role in the blooming of the lotus in these rural pockets of Delhi. The development works carried out by the former Chief Minister, who also played important role while being a labour minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. The local villagers still remember the development works done by Sahib Singh. The influence of the leader is still very dominating over these areas.
All the three major political parties, who are banking upon their agenda of development, women’s security and the like to grab the attention of electorates, have locked up in a triangular fight in almost all the Jat-dominated assembly seats.
However, the main contest will be between BJP and AAP as the Congress has ceded the ground to the latter after 2013 assembly election. In the rural areas, where there is no social media, no high-profile television debates, locals are campaigning for the party of their choice without any fanfare.
In the 2013 assembly elections, BJP had won most of the Jat-dominated seats under the South Delhi and North West parliamentary seats. BJP had won 12 seats while AAP was second in line with five seats into its kitty out of total 20 assembly seats. The assembly seats won by BJP include Narela, Bawana, Rithala, Nangloi Jat, Najafgarh, Kirari, Matiala, Bijwasan, Mehrauli, Chhattarpur and RK Puram, while AAP wrested Vikaspuri and Mundaka seat was won by independent Rambir Shokeen.
The Jat candidates of BJP in the race are Neel Daman Khatri (Narela), Kulwant Rana (Rithala), Gugan Singh Ranga (Bawana), Azad Singh (Mundka), Manoj Shokeen (Nangloi Jat), Rajesh Gahlot (Matiala), Ajeet Singh Khadkhari (Najafgarh), Satprakash Rana (Bijwasan), Dharmdev Solanki (Palam), Brahm Singh Tanwar (Chhatarpur).
While the AAP candidates for the same assembly seats are Sharad Kumar, Mahinder Goel, Ved Prakash, Rajendra Dabas, Raghvender Shaukeen, Gulab Singh, Kailash Gehlot, Col Sehrawat, Bhavana Gaur, Kartar Singh respectively.
The rural areas have a different voting pattern in comparison to urban areas. In these areas, local issues always dominate as villagers need instant solutions to their problems.
The wave of Narendra Modi or Arvind Kejriwal is hardly visible in the Jat-dominated areas. The local issues like bad roads, drinking water, round the clock electricity for irrigation, better hospitals, availability of teachers in school, pension for senior citizens, better frequency of public transport etc are the most sought after demands of the villagers. It has also been noted that village panchayats exercise their diktat in favour of particular candidates and villagers follow the same.
On February 7, Modi government’s move to tweak the land acquisition act is likely to play a spoilsport for the party, which had won almost all the Jat-dominated seats in the December 4, 2013, Vidhan Sabha election. Keeping in view the Jat-dominated constituencies, all three major political outfits — Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress — are trying to woo the community assiduously for the Delhi assembly polls. Constituencies like Narela, Bawana, Mundaka, Nangloi Jat, Najafgarh, Kirari, Matiala, Bijwasan, Vikaspuri, Mehrauli and RK Puram have a sizable Jat community and sizable number of Dalits and other lower class voters.
Notably, these areas were the stronghold of the Congress as they were mostly elected till the 1990s during parliamentary elections. But, the BJP managed to make inroads into these rural areas in the early 1990s. The area flourished as a BJP bastion after Krishan Lal Sharma was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1996 defeating Congress’ old warhorse Sajjan Kumar.
A local Jat leader Sahib Singh Verma, who also became Chief Minister of Delhi, played a key role in the blooming of the lotus in these rural pockets of Delhi. The development works carried out by the former Chief Minister, who also played important role while being a labour minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. The local villagers still remember the development works done by Sahib Singh. The influence of the leader is still very dominating over these areas.
All the three major political parties, who are banking upon their agenda of development, women’s security and the like to grab the attention of electorates, have locked up in a triangular fight in almost all the Jat-dominated assembly seats.
However, the main contest will be between BJP and AAP as the Congress has ceded the ground to the latter after 2013 assembly election. In the rural areas, where there is no social media, no high-profile television debates, locals are campaigning for the party of their choice without any fanfare.
In the 2013 assembly elections, BJP had won most of the Jat-dominated seats under the South Delhi and North West parliamentary seats. BJP had won 12 seats while AAP was second in line with five seats into its kitty out of total 20 assembly seats. The assembly seats won by BJP include Narela, Bawana, Rithala, Nangloi Jat, Najafgarh, Kirari, Matiala, Bijwasan, Mehrauli, Chhattarpur and RK Puram, while AAP wrested Vikaspuri and Mundaka seat was won by independent Rambir Shokeen.
The Jat candidates of BJP in the race are Neel Daman Khatri (Narela), Kulwant Rana (Rithala), Gugan Singh Ranga (Bawana), Azad Singh (Mundka), Manoj Shokeen (Nangloi Jat), Rajesh Gahlot (Matiala), Ajeet Singh Khadkhari (Najafgarh), Satprakash Rana (Bijwasan), Dharmdev Solanki (Palam), Brahm Singh Tanwar (Chhatarpur).
While the AAP candidates for the same assembly seats are Sharad Kumar, Mahinder Goel, Ved Prakash, Rajendra Dabas, Raghvender Shaukeen, Gulab Singh, Kailash Gehlot, Col Sehrawat, Bhavana Gaur, Kartar Singh respectively.
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