Rajasthan polls: Battle for Jat votes hots up with entry of BJP ally JJP

With just a couple of weeks left for the Election Commission to announce the dates of polling in Rajasthan, the BJP is trying to put its house in order and forge alliances with smaller parties.

Taking the first step in this direction, the BJP has asked its alliance partner in Haryana, Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), to jointly contest the polls in Rajasthan. The two parties are already running a coalition government in Haryana.

“We are working together, and discussions are on to decide the seat sharing agreement for the assembly elections in Rajasthan. The idea is to contest the elections together and strengthen the NDA before the polls,” said Prateek Som, national spokesperson of JJP. As per the plan, the JJP hopes to contest a substantial number of seats in northern and western parts of Rajasthan and wants the BJP to give the party at least 20-25 seats in these two regions.

Expanding alliance

“The alliance between the BJP and JJP was earlier restricted to Haryana only. JJP wanted to expand its social and electoral base in Rajasthan and therefore they have already started campaigning in the state with the intention of contesting some seats during the assembly elections. We are confident that the two parties will reach a consensus on a seat-sharing arrangement,” said a senior BJP leader in the know of the development.

The timing of the BJP decision to strengthen the NDA before the upcoming assembly elections in five states and the general elections in April-May 2024 is interesting because the BJP-JJP alliance in Haryana passed through a difficult phase over the last few months and some BJP leaders even stated that the two parties must not contest elections together.

Even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stepped in to resolve the issue and also spoke to Haryana’s Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, senior BJP leader Chaudhary Birender Singh has categorically stated that there should be no alliance between the BJP and JJP in Haryana or else they will suffer electorally because of JJP.

Birender Singh and Dushyant Chautala are at loggerheads due to Uchana Kalan constituency. While Duhsyant represents the constituency at present, Birender Singh is keen that his family members should get an opportunity to contest from the seat. Singh has threatened that if the BJP continues its alliance with JJP in Haryana, he may consider returning to the Congress. Singh had quit the Congress and joined the BJP soon after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

“Chaudhary Birender Singh has been making allegations against the JJP and its leadership for a long time. He is the only one who is speaking against the alliance. We have made it clear that we will not vacate our seat, and BJP leaders have assured us that they will not let any leader threaten the coordination in the NDA,” said Som.

Eyeing Jat votes

With the election season set to begin soon, the BJP is stitching alliances to consolidate the votes of the Jat community in its favour. While joining hands with the JJP in Rajasthan, the BJP has also promised the regional party that it will help it become a national party.

The BJP has now proposed to the JJP leadership that the two NDA partners must also contest together in Delhi and in some parts of Punjab. “We are very keen that the JJP should become a national party, and the BJP leadership has assured us that it will help the JJP become one. Apart from Haryana and Rajasthan, we also want to contest elections in parts of western Uttar Pradesh. We hope the BJP will agree to an alliance with JJP in western Uttar Pradesh, as this will take us closer to our goal of becoming a national party,” said Som.

While holding talks with the JJP, which heavily depends on the support of the Jat community for its electoral and political relevance, the BJP leadership is also keen on joining hands with Hanuman Beniwal, a former partner of the NDA and chief of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP). Even though BJP has reached out to Beniwal for a tie-up, he is open to the idea of a post-poll alliance rather than a pre-poll alliance in Rajasthan.

Political analysts believe that the BJP is looking to expand the footprint of the NDA because it wants to create the perception that the NDA too has many regional partners like the INDIA alliance.

“Another reason is that the BJP leadership wants to consolidate the support of Jat voters in favour of the BJP-led NDA. Apart from JJP, the BJP has recently inducted Jyoti Mirdha, a prominent Jat leader of Congress, into the party. This is an attempt by the BJP to consolidate Jat votes in Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, and western Uttar Pradesh in its favour before the crucial polls,” said Ashutosh Kumar, a political science professor at the Panjab University.