Locked in a keen contest at two seats in the tribal-dominated Mewar region in southern Rajasthan, the ruling Congress and Opposition BJP candidates are trying to lure voters for the Assembly by-elections, scheduled for October 30, with tall promises to bring infrastructure development, agricultural power, irrigation waters and employment opportunities.
The electorate in Vallabhnagar and Dhariawad constituencies going to bypolls faces almost similar issues of lack of civic amenities, jobs, water and power supply and transport, educational and medical facilities. The people in Dhariawad also complain of defective implementation of Tribal Sub-Plan provisions.
In addition to the two principal political parties, the candidates of Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), Janata Sena, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) as well as several Independents are in the fray. The by-elections were necessitated after the death of Vallabhnagar MLA Gajendra Singh Shaktawat and Dhariawad MLA Gautam Lal Meena earlier this year.
The contestants started door-to-door contacts on Thursday after the period for election campaign and rallies ended. The party workers showed a tremendous enthusiasm in organising public meetings and rallies during the visits of leaders such as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Pradesh Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra, BJP national general secretary Arun Singh and BJP State president Satish Poonia.
Mr. Gehlot, who visited the region twice during the campaign, sprang a surprise by going to the home of deceased BJP MLA Mr. Meena in Dhariawad to condole his death before addressing a rally. He highlighted the works done by his government and affirmed that the Congress party was contesting the bypolls on the basis of its performance.
BJP rebel in field
While BJP rebel Udai Lal Dangi has been fielded as the RLP candidate in Vallabhnagar after he was denied ticket by his parent party, the BTP’s official candidate Ganesh Meena is likely to bear the brunt of division in the tribal votes in Dhariawad because of a tribal youth, Thawarchand Damor, contesting as an independent candidate.
Congress candidate Preeti Shaktawat, widow of Mr. Shaktawat, expects to get the sympathy votes in the name of her late husband, who was a loyalist of Sachin Pilot.
