Rajkumar Roat, founder of the recently formed Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP), has won the Chorasi seat in the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly polls. In Madhya Pradesh, Kamleshwar Dodiyar defeated the nearest rival and Congress candidate Harsh Vijay Gehlot in Sailana constituency by a margin of 4,618 votes as per the Election Commission. The party has emerged as a notable competitor in these states, especially in the tribal areas.
Read Rajasthan Election Results 2023 live updates here.
More about the Bharat Adivasi Party
The Bharat Adivasi Party was formed shortly before the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly elections, following a split in the six-year-old Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP). The party was founded by tribal leader and MLA for the Chorasi Assembly constituency in Rajasthan, Rajkumar Roat, and Sagwara MLA Ramprasad Dindor.
In an interview with The Times of India online, Mr. Roat said that the new party was formed due to a difference in ideology with the BTP. “It is due to the arbitrariness of BTP’s national president that we parted ways and formed BAP. People from BJP and Congress are currently associated with BTP and hijacked the party for their political interests. Those who believe in our core ideology have joined BAP. Our prospects will not be impacted by BTP’s split,” the MLA was quoted as saying.
The party has positioned itself as a champion of the tribal community, aiming to improve their access to education, health care, and economic opportunities. BAP also claims to focus on the environment and has expressed support for policies promoting clean energy, pollution control, etc.
BAP focuses on people-centric progress, and calls itself the first “environment-friendly party”, working in the interest of “water, forest, land, biodiversity, nature, and indigenous people”. The party aims to create a social system centred on values like democracy that are enshrined in the Constitution.
Where does the party currently stand?
While the contest in Rajasthan is primarily between the Congress party and the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), BAP’s presence in tribal areas was considered the reason why many national leaders visited those constituencies to consolidate votes for their parties in the run-up to the election, news agency PTI reported.
Mr. Dodiyar’s win in Madhya Pradesh’s Sailana constituency is the party’s first victory in the State. Sailana seat of Ratlam is located on the borders of Rajasthan.
With more than 450 members, the BAP currently has presence in over 12 States and 250 cities. Mohan Lal Roat is the National President of the party while Jitenadar Alashkar as the National Joint Secretary and Harilal Goda as the national treasurer.
The party contested on 27 seats in the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly polls.
