The Parliamentary Board of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday named West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as its vice-president candidate.
By making Dhankhar, a Jat, and a learned MLA, its candidate for VP, the BJP has attempted to create a deep rift within the opposition parties, which claim themselves to represent the Jat community in various states, primarily Haryana. , in Uttar Pradesh. , Punjab and Rajasthan, comes under Dhankhar state.
Just as the BJP has garnered votes from parties in opposition and in alliance with the Congress for its presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu, the BJP has attempted to garner Jat support by nominating Dhankhar, which is perceived as annoyed. . The party followed agrarian reform laws and protests by farmers, sources said.
Moreover, it would be an ideal strategy for the BJP to expose regional political parties claiming to be ‘thekedars’ (leaders) of the Jat community during elections. A senior party leader said, “If they chose not to support their VP candidate and despite the BJP having the numbers for their candidate to win the post, they will be exposed within their vote bank.”
For the 16th Vice Presidential election, 233 elected members of Rajya Sabha, 12 nominated members of Rajya Sabha and 543 elected members of Lok Sabha will vote.
Mission Rajasthan
Speaking to News18, Ram Singh, a four-time MP and one-time MLA from Rajasthan – the samadhi of Jagdeep Dhankhar – said that Jats are a very influential community in the state and they have influence in 15 districts and 64 constituencies.
“Congress mein denth lag gayi (we have broken Congress). However, Jats were with the BJP for quite some time,” said Singh, who is also the father of Rahul Kaswan, MP from Churu, Rajasthan.
He also said that there is a large number of Jats in the division (region) of Jodhpur, Bikaner, Bharatpur, Sikar. In Rajasthan, voting is to be held in 200 seats in 2023.
The VP candidate belonging to the Jat community in the state is considered to be the demographically largest (around 15 to 18 per cent), the party hopes to consolidate that votebank as well.
Senior leaders believe that Dhankhar’s nomination is likely to create more rifts within the already divided Congress in the state, especially among Jat leaders ahead of the state assembly elections. A source said that Jat leaders, especially from the Congress, may show some kind of solidarity with the BJP’s VP candidate in the coming days to ensure that their community does not feel empowered towards the BJP.
Senior state leaders believe that the Jats had voted in favor of the Congress and were hopeful that a Jat chief minister would be elected. However, Congress chose Ashok Gehlot. A senior party leader said, “While the BJP nominated Vasundhara Raje, who is believed to be married in a Jat family, and vice-president, a message has been sent to the community that the BJP is not against giving her the important post. ”
Pressure on rival Jat parties?
Senior BJP leaders said parties claiming to be ‘Jat Dal’, including Jayant Choudhary’s Rashtriya Lok Dal, would be kept under watch during the elections. Choudhary is a Rajya Sabha MP. Lok Sabha elections are due in 2024 and BJP is eyeing to harness the influence of Jat leaders, especially in western UP.
Can the choice of Jat VP affect the Jats of Haryana?
While the BJP’s alliance with Dushyant Chautala’s JJP remains intact, the party is also trying to strengthen its base in the Jat community. Since Jats are significant in numbers and are angry with the party for making a non-Jat chief minister, the party has started working on a Jat vote bank independent of JJP, on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A senior party leader believes that Dhankhar is a Jatt from Rajasthan, but it will certainly have some impact on the community in Haryana, if not more.
Message to Jats after the farmers’ movement
While making the announcement, BJP national president JP Nadda described Dhankhar as a ‘farmer-son’. The message was clear and clear to those who were claiming that the party was anti-Jat and anti-farmer after the Agriculture Act was passed in Parliament.
Along with many farmers from the community, the party was also tagged as anti-Jat by the opposition, Jat leader Rakesh Tikait and Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik, who is retiring this year. The party seems to have sent a message to all of them by electing Dhankhar to such an important post.
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