In absence of a wave, ripples in Rajasthan’s ‘Jat land’: BJP and Modi versus local factors

2024 is not 2014 or 2019. In eastern Rajasthan and the Jat-dominated Shekhawati region, many people say they will vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi but they are not as vocal or aggressive as before. Perhaps, there is a sense of acknowledgement that the BJP is here to comfortably win and there is no need to sharply define one’s position in public.

Yet, moving through Dausa, Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu — the last three constitute the Shekhawati area — there was not even one person who did not admit that there was a “takkar (contest)” this time. It is the local issues that are coming to the fore in several constituencies, making it a Modi versus local battle.

This is how a political wag described it. “When you look at it closely, these fights do not reflect a fight between the BJP and the Congress nationally. It is a heavyweight candidate or a local group rivalry that seems to be overtaking the Modi factor, converting it into a takkar.” In the last two general elections — which the BJP swept, winning 25 out of 25 — the Modi factor was able to subsume these local issues and may yet do so in many constituencies.

“Modi thoda struggle mein aa gaye hain (Modi is struggling a little),” said a shopkeeper, a pro-BJP Brahmin manning a shop near the famous Khatu Shyamji Mandir in Sikar district, where, in the middle of a hot afternoon, hundreds of devotees were trying to catch a glimpse of the highly revered local deity.

An entrepreneur in Mandaava in Jhunjhunu said, “Had Modi not been there, it would have been difficult for the BJP to win. This time, there is no junoon (enthusiasm).” A BJP leader articulated the sense on the ground, saying, “It may not change the direction of the wind, but shifts are being felt this time.”

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