In the hotbed of agrarian politics, once considered a bastion of Left parties, the election at the Sikar Lok Sabha seat in Rajasthan’s Shekhawati region has offered an opportunity to Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Amra Ram to regain lost ground. As an Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance bloc candidate, Mr. Ram has reached out to the voters reminding them of his long-drawn agitations for irrigation waters, land rights, farm loan waiver, and minimum support prices.
Mr. Ram, 72, fielded from the Jat-dominated constituency following an alliance with the Opposition Congress, is pitted against Bharatiya Janata Party’s two-time sitting MP Sumedhanand Saraswati, who is seeking votes with the claims of having built institutions, developing infrastructure, and improving water supply with the completion of several projects.
Sikar is among the 12 seats in Rajasthan going to election in the first phase on April 19. While Union Home Minister Amit Shah selected the constituency for launching the BJP’s election campaign in Rajasthan with a road show on March 31, it is the hometown of Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasra, who represents the Lachhmangah Assembly segment in the district.
Four-time CPI(M) MLA and firebrand farmer leader Amra Ram, who is known as a fighter for the rights of peasants, has been at the forefront of several agitations. He previously represented the Dhod Assembly constituency three times, between 1993 and 2003, and won from Danta Ramgarh in 2008.
The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) – the peasants front of the CPI(M) – was instrumental in bringing all the farmers’ groups of the country under a single umbrella for the 13-month-long agitation in 2020-21. Earlier, a 10-day-long ‘Kisan Padaav’ (stay of farmers) and a highway strike in several towns of northern Rajasthan in 2017, led by the AIKS, over minimum support prices for farm produce, had drawn support from the Congress and forced the BJP government to accept the demands.
The agitations in Sikar and adjoining districts earlier used to be centred mostly on the farmers’ issues. The focus has since shifted to the urban matters, such as poor roads and infrastructure, gang wars, pollution, and law and order situation. The BJP’s emergence in the region has also gradually reduced the appeal of Leftist ideology among the masses.
The Agnipath scheme for short-term recruitment to the Army has stirred up discontent among Jats in the constituency, as almost every family of the community is connected with the Armed Forces. While most of the coaching institutes which prepared the youngsters for the Army’s exams have closed down, other Central policies also seem to have made a negative impact on the voters. The Congress won five of the eight Assembly seats here in the 2023 Assembly election.
Mr. Ram told The Hindu in the middle of his public meeting at Palsana tehsil’s Shishu village that he had opted to join the alliance and accepted the candidature for protecting the Constitution and democracy in the country. “The nation is at the crossroads today. It is not a question of the Left parties alone. The BJP will destroy all democratic institutions if it is not stopped at this critical juncture,” he said.
The CPI(M) leader has promised to the voters that he would work for ensuring minimum support prices and complete loan waiver for farmers, protecting small traders against the impact of big corporate houses, regular recruitment in the Army, availability of work for 200 days and daily wages of ₹600 under the MGNREGA, and enactment of a strict law against the recruitment exam paper leak cases.
Against an impression created in the constituency that the dominant Jat community is rallying behind Mr. Ram, Sikar district BJP vice president Bhagirath Chaudhary said this factor, if it existed, would be compensated by the “less vocal voters” silently supporting the ruling party. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s achievements and vision had already made an impact in the region, which would get reflected in the election results.
Political analyst Ashfaq Kayamkhani said Mr. Ram would get the “direct benefit” of the Congress voters’ support as an alliance candidate despite his earlier differences with the party and pose a strong challenge before BJP’s Mr. Saraswati. He pointed out that the CPI(M) leader Sheopat Singh had won the Bikaner Lok Sabha seat as an alliance candidate against Congress for the first time in the State in 1989.
Though both Mr. Ram, affectionately called the ‘Comrade’, and Mr. Saraswati belong to the Jat community, it is the farmers’ plight rooted in the lack of fair prices for their harvest which has affected the political discourse in the constituency. While a section of the Congress leaders may be uncomfortable with the alliance because of the rise of a rival Jat leader, the pact has been perceived here as a manifestation of people’s resentment against the Centre’s policies.
