In desert country, a 26-yr-old ‘reel neta’ rises to challenge BJP, Congress

Barmer, Rajasthan: Lantha rahya. Stay Strong. The young boy’s scream pierced the door glasses of the SUV in which Ravindra Singh Bhati was campaigning. The energy around was electric. At every pit stop, the crowd lifted Bhati on their shoulders and carried him to the village temple. Women in bright coloured veils showered rose and marigold petals. Bhati brought his palms together in a namaste, smiled, and bowed before the crowd. Dhyan rakhjo. Take care of me, he said loudly.

Son of a government school teacher, the 26-year-old is among the youngest aspirants in the 2024 general elections. He is contesting from Barmer, Rajasthan, as an independent candidate. The Barmer seat, located in western Rajasthan, is the second largest Parliamentary constituency in India, after Ladakh. Spanning over 71,000 sq. km—an area larger than Sri Lanka—it is spread across Barmer and Jaisalmer districts of the state. The constituency is also a part of the famous Thar desert which spills over to neighbouring Pakistan.

On a hot summer afternoon, the highways running through Barmer evoked a sense of isolation—drive for miles without a soul in sight. This could be the setting of a noir film. Or lull a traveller into a meditative journey inward. But not when Bhati is around. When his convoy rushed into hamlets like a superstars’ on a road trip, silence gave way to chaos.

Bhati seems to have captured the imagination of the youth in one of the most backward districts of India. Here, poverty is palpable, water is scarce and migrating to states like Gujarat and Maharashtra in search of work is the route to survival for many. This is despite the presence of large projects like the oil fields of Vedanta Ltd, a lignite-based power plant of JSW Energy,