SEPT 25- Election fever is catching up in Rajasthan and hundreds of ticket aspirants are busy preparing for and giving interviews for the limited number of assembly seats.
But in the Congress, those who show loyalty towards party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and know how to exploit caste equations are certainly in a majority and are being favoured.
A large number of ticket aspirants can be seen falling over each other in trying to outshine others in waxing eloquence on Rahul Gandhi and bragging how they can bring the maximum votes from their castes.
Long queues of ticket seekers can be easily seen at Jaipur’s Congress office and Circuit House where interviews are being conducted.
And all that the ticket aspirants can talk about is their loyalty to the Gandhi family apart from how they can get the party votes on the basis of caste equations.
One ticket aspirant Bhawani Singh Shekhawat had this to say: “I said (during the interview) Rahul Gandhi’s mission is very good. The youth will come forward in this and work completely with him. Yes, I was asked about caste equations.”
The candidates went all out in trying to show their allegiance to the Gandhi clan and claiming knowledge about Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi is needed and comes with the turf.
Some brag about how some or the other in their family has been associated with the Gandhis — be it Rajiv, Sonia or someone else — and how that qualifies them for an opportunity to work with Rahul, of course by getting an election ticket.
Another ticket aspirant, Pradeep Kalwania, said: “They have put the country on to the path of progress since independence. That is undoubtedly a big thing.”
Caste-based politics involves people who claim to represent communities within Jats, Rajputs, Brahmins, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Even those conducting interviews have their priorities chalked out.
According to them, it’s the Gandhi name that matters. And the candidates must know caste politics well.
A three-member panel conducted the interviews for the candidates divided on the basis of the districts they came from.
Some ticket seekers expressed grouse that people who came from outside representing a different caste was trying to encroach upon their territory by seeking tickets from their districts.
Party MLA Col (retd) Sonram Chaudhary said: “Yes, definitely caste is there. Suppose there are four-five MLAs. So we see what are the major castes there — Jats, SC/STs, Mohammedans, Rajputs or Brahmins. Then we try to compensate. So caste is there. If somebody says otherwise, he is living in a fool’s paradise.”
INDIA TODAY
