“Beniwal aur Jyoti” – the contest between sitting MP and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) founder Hanuman Beniwal and his BJP challenger Jyoti Mirdha in Rajasthan’s Nagaur seems to have ignited public discussions across the Jat-dominated parliamentary constituency, with many at chaupals and tea stalls debating which of these two Jat faces will have the upper hand.
Beniwal is contesting the election this time as the Opposition INDIA bloc’s candidate following his alliance with the Congress, which was ousted from power by the BJP in the November 2023 Assembly polls. Former MP Jyoti Mirdha, who was earlier with the Congress, is the granddaughter of Nathuram Mirdha, an influential Jat leader.
Of the total nearly 21 lakh voters in Nagaur, there are about 6 lakh Jat voters – highest among the local communities. As the Jat votes are expected to be evenly split between Beniwal and Jyoti, the Muslim and Meghwal (Scheduled Caste) voters would play a decisive factor in determining the poll outcome in Nagaur. While the Muslim community accounts for about 3 lakh voters, there are nearly 5 lakh Scheduled Castes (SC) voters in the constituency.
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Among the SC communities, Meghwals account for the largest chunk of voters. Both Muslims and Meghwals have been traditional supporters of the Congress.
Beniwal is contesting the election this time as the Opposition INDIA bloc’s candidate following his alliance with the Congress, which was ousted from power by the BJP in the November 2023 Assembly polls. (Express Photo)
Contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha election in an alliance with the BJP, Beniwal had defeated the then Congress nominee Jyoti Mirdha by 1.81 lakh votes.
A BJP activist from Jayal town told The Indian Express, “This time, it is expected that Jat youth will support Beniwal and people above 35 years will support Jyoti. It is usually seen that youth vote in high percentage during elections. So, Beniwal is ahead. Moreover, Muslims don’t vote for BJP and SC voters have been Congress voters. To woo both these communities (Muslims and Dalits) is still a difficult task for BJP.”
The BJP recently organised a Meghwal Sabha at Nagaur in a bid to woo the community. It ensured the participation of many Meghwal leaders from various regions, who urged their community voters to back the party.
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“It has been seen in the last few elections that the SC youth have started to vote for BJP but a majority of their community, especially senior citizens, tend to vote for ‘haath’ (Congress symbol). As there will be no Congress candidate this election, many SC voters may decide to stay indoors,” said another BJP worker.
The BJP leaders say the Meghwal community has still not announced their support for any candidate in this election.
The Opposition side maintains that the Muslim votes would be transferred to Beniwal as he is the Congress’s ally now. In some villages, where Beniwal held his meetings, several Muslim men were seen carrying the Congress’s flags. “Our votes have been for Congress and this time, for RLP,” said Imran Sheikh, a villager in Landnun.
The BJP camp, however, believes that its former leader Yunus Khan can deliver it the crucial Muslim vote.
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A close confidant of BJP stalwart and ex-chief minister Vasundhara Raje, Yunus, the former PWD and transport minister, was not given ticket by the BJP in the Assembly polls, forcing him too quit the party. He then contested as an Independent from Deedwana — an Assembly segment of the Nagaur Lok Sabha seat — and won. Apart from Muslims, he is also said to be popular among other communities including Rajput.
Yunus has not disclosed his stance in this election, even as the BJP leaders said they were trying to placate him in order to take him on board. Nagaur is going to the polls in the first phase on April 19.
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“Yunus Khan, being a close aide of Raje, was not given ticket in the Assembly polls. The man has so much support among people from various castes and communities in Deedwana that he can deliver at least 50,000 votes to BJP. We are trying to convince him to support us,” said a BJP leader.
Yunus has kept his card close to his chest. There is however buzz in Nagaur that he played a role in getting a BSP ticket for a local Rajput leader Gajendra Singh Rathore, which could hurt Jyoti’s prospects.
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Rathore may make a dent in the BJP’s Rajput vote bank, even though the community has been traditional supporters of the party.
Some local BJP leaders say Yunus is waiting for Raje’s signal to take a final position in this election. He was widely seen as No. 2 in Raje’s Cabinet.
In the Assembly polls, which the BJP won by a big margin, the Congress had won four Assembly segments in the Nagaur constituency and the BJP two. Beniwal had also contested from Khinwsar, winning the seat by 2,059 votes.
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Both Beniwal and Jyoti have their pockets of influence across Nagaur. Jyoti has a strong support base in the Nawan, Jayal and Parbatsar Assembly segments, while Beniwal seems to be well-entrenched in the Makrana, Deedwana and Ladnun belts.
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Jyoti has raked up the issue of drug trafficking in Khimsar to target Beniwal. There have been allegations that Beniwal backed the drug mafia and that he he put pressure on the police to release some youths arrested for drug trafficking. Jyoti has raised these issues in her rallies.
Beniwal, while talking to The Indian Express, denied these allegations. “This is false that I support drug trafficking. None of my supporters are drug addicts or in any criminal activity. Jyoti Mirdha is making baseless allegations as her loss in elections has become evident.”
Meanwhile, there has been a perception in both the BJP and Congress circles that the election would be an uphill task for Jyoti if she is not able to wean a section of Meghwal and Muslim voters from Beniwal.
