09-26-2006, 10:52 AM
In 1946, a retired DIG of police in Rajasthan, Baldev Ram Mirdha, created the Marwar Kisan Sabha in Jodhpur division, primarily to introduce land reforms. The Marwar Kisan Sabha represented the Jats, and its merger with Congress after Independence gradually brought the community economic prosperity and political power to the Congress. But one prize has eluded this community, and that is chief ministership.
This issue has come to the boil time and again, mainly because in 1998, Parasram Maderna, the then CLP leader, failed to become the stateâs first Jat CM even though the party swept the state, winning 153 of the 200 seats under his leadership. Instead, the Congress leadership plumped for PCC chief Ashok Gehlot as the CM instead of Maderna. Maderna being mass leader and a man of honour chose to sit at home rather then shout out loud in public.
One of the issues of concern for the Congress Party in Rajasthan today remains the detachment of support of the agrarian community post 1998 debacle. The Jats are almost 18 per cent of Rajasthanâs population and are capable of deciding the fate of at least 50 seats directly. Naturally, a significant shift in the communityâs vote spell trouble or boom for the party. The Jats have proved their dissatisfaction with the Congress in the consecutive general and assembly elections and from 1999 onwards the BJP has been winning a majority of seats.
The Jat caste in particular and the agrarian community at large has given enough feedback to prove a point that any effort to correct the mistakes of 1998 with any other alternative personality will merely be a futile exercise.
The current scenario of Jat Politics shows that Congress leaders in-charge of Rajasthan are promoting priorities for party âin-groupsâ that don't resonate at all with the larger public. This is classic case of over-reacting, mixed in with the most myopic opportunism. The real opportunity here is for the Congress to promote a grass root agrarian leader.
This issue has come to the boil time and again, mainly because in 1998, Parasram Maderna, the then CLP leader, failed to become the stateâs first Jat CM even though the party swept the state, winning 153 of the 200 seats under his leadership. Instead, the Congress leadership plumped for PCC chief Ashok Gehlot as the CM instead of Maderna. Maderna being mass leader and a man of honour chose to sit at home rather then shout out loud in public.
One of the issues of concern for the Congress Party in Rajasthan today remains the detachment of support of the agrarian community post 1998 debacle. The Jats are almost 18 per cent of Rajasthanâs population and are capable of deciding the fate of at least 50 seats directly. Naturally, a significant shift in the communityâs vote spell trouble or boom for the party. The Jats have proved their dissatisfaction with the Congress in the consecutive general and assembly elections and from 1999 onwards the BJP has been winning a majority of seats.
The Jat caste in particular and the agrarian community at large has given enough feedback to prove a point that any effort to correct the mistakes of 1998 with any other alternative personality will merely be a futile exercise.
The current scenario of Jat Politics shows that Congress leaders in-charge of Rajasthan are promoting priorities for party âin-groupsâ that don't resonate at all with the larger public. This is classic case of over-reacting, mixed in with the most myopic opportunism. The real opportunity here is for the Congress to promote a grass root agrarian leader.