After sparking a controversy by his communally abusive remarks in the Lok Sabha, BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri has raked up the issue of the Rajasthan government’s alleged appeasement policy in Tonk district, where he has been appointed the party’s election in-charge. Of the four Assembly seats in Tonk, the BJP at present occupies only one.
Mr. Bidhuri has visited Tonk district thrice since his appointment in the end of September to look after the preparations for the November 25 Assembly elections. The BJP has fielded Gujjar leader Vijay Bainsla from Deoli-Uniara constituency in its first list of candidates, while the ruling Congress is yet to announce the names of its candidates for the State.
The BJP MP from South Delhi has addressed a series of meetings of the party workers, including a workshop of the election management committee, where he handed over different responsibilities to the office-bearers. He was accompanied by Tonk-Sawai Madhopur MP Sukhbir Singh Jaunpuria in his introductory visits to several blocks in the district.
The BJP has assigned poll responsibilities to Mr. Bidhuri in Tonk, which has a sizeable Muslim population, while his Gujjar identity is sought to be utilised for attracting the community, which had voted overwhelmingly for Congress leader Sachin Pilot in 2018. By all indications, Mr. Pilot will again contest the upcoming Assembly polls from the Tonk seat.
Addressing a meeting of BJP workers here last week, Mr. Bidhuri accused the Congress government in the State of indulging in “appeasement politics”, while affirming that all sections of the population should be treated with equality. “The politics of appeasement is in full swing here. The Congress is supporting a particular community to obtain its votes in bulk,” he said.
While asking party workers to generate awareness among the voters and get rid of appeasement, Mr. Bidhuri said a “double-engine” government would take Rajasthan to the path of progress. He said Congress MLAs had looted the State in five years because Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was busy “saving his chair”. He also alleged that the Congress government had no control over law and order, and the State was immersed in corruption.
Interestingly, Mr. Bidhuri is yet to appear before the Lok Sabha Privileges Committee for his derogatory comments against Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Danish Ali. He has reportedly cited his repeated visits outside New Delhi as the reason for inability to appear before the panel, which is hearing the complaints lodged by several Opposition MPs against him.
The ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict in the Middle East has also come as an opportunity for Mr. Bidhuri to target the Congress. After interacting with BJP workers at another organisational meeting, Mr. Bidhuri told reporters that the Congress had revealed its “real face of appeasement” through its resolution on the attack on Israel, in which it had “supported terrorists”.
“The Congress Working Committee has supported Hamas in its resolution to please a particular community. The world is shocked by the terrorism of Hamas... Their terrorists raped women and kidnapped innocent Israeli citizens,” Mr. Bidhuri said. He said such a resolution would “encourage anti-national elements and traitors” living in the country.
The BJP MP affirmed that the voters in Tonk should understand the issue in the right perspective, as even the students in the institutions like Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia had raised slogans in support of Hamas. “Congress is in fact encouraging them and destroying our Sanatan Dharma’s culture of peace and non-violence. It deserves to be shown the door in the [upcoming] election,” Mr. Bidhuri said.
Muslims comprise 10.77% of the population of Tonk district, which is an erstwhile princely State that was ruled by Nawabs, while the community’s population is 47.18% in Tonk city. Among the 2.45 lakh voters in Tonk constituency, about 62,000 are Muslims. The number of Gujjars is 35,000; the number of Scheduled Castes (SC) is 45,000; the number of Brahmins is 15,000; the number of Jats is 12,000; the number of Malis is 16,000; and the number of Rajputs is 5,000.
The BJP’s attempt for consolidation of Hindu voters may not succeed at the Tonk seat, where the Congress is in a strong position, and Mr. Bidhuri will find it difficult to counter Mr. Pilot despite his Gujjar identity. However, it may make an impact in the three other constituencies in the district — Deoli-Uniara, Malpura, and Niwai. Malpura, represented by BJP MLA Kanhaiya Lal, has witnessed riots in the past, while Tonk city has been free of communal tension during the Congress’ rule.
Pradesh Congress Committee member Saud Saidi, who unsuccessfully contested the 2003 Assembly polls as an Independent from Tonk, told The Hindu that the Mr. Bidhuri’s tirades would harm the BJP itself, as Muslims and other voters with a secular outlook would get mobilised and cast their ballot in large numbers. Considered a close confidante of Mr. Pilot, who is a Gujjar, Mr. Saidi said Mr. Bidhuri was an outsider, who would fail to make any impact on the Gujjar voters in the district.
Brahmin Samaj leader and taxation lawyer Hari Krishna Sharma said the BJP had tried to whip up communal sentiments in the earlier elections as well, but it had never succeeded. However, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha’s district president Narendra Sharma said the BJP was only bringing the national issues to the mainstream, on which it expected to build a favourable public opinion.
