Caste-based groups lobby for ticket to representatives

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, August 21

Even as the process of selection of the candidates for the Assembly elections has started in various parties, the finalisation of the names won’t be easy as community and caste-based associations have started lobbying for their representatives.

Besides the political experience and the image, it is the support and the pressure exerted by the communities that usually help in staking the claim on the ticket of a particular political party in the elections, says a political activist.

He adds though various parties have adopted a selection criteria and invited formal applications, demand raised by community and caste-based groups and their pressure on the party high command or leadership play a crucial role in deciding the ticket allotment. The greater the vote share of a community, the bigger the pressure. While every community has at least two or three associations, some of these tend to become active during the elections as they see it as an opportunity to strengthen their representation at political levels.

“Several associations under the banner of the Brahmin Sabha,Gaur Brahmin Sabha, Jat Mahasabha, Gurjar Mahasabha, Maharaja Agrasen Sabha (Vaishya), Punjabi Mahasabha, Rajput Sabha and Ambedkar Sabha have their presence in almost every district,” says Devinder Singh Surjewala, a political analyst.

He stresses while such organisations do want to increase their influence or participation in the power corridors, they take up their demands with senior leaders or party high commands through various means. Claiming that influence of communities has been a vital factor, Sharda Rathore, a former MLA, says it is the support of all sections of society that decides the fate of any candidate, and it is good if such a demand is raised by any group.

At a micro level, the Rawat and Dagar Pal (khaps) of the Jat community have reportedly agreed to support candidates belonging to their gotras alternatively after every five years at the Hathin segment falling in Palwal district. While it was Dagar last time, this time Rawat Pal is scheduled to get a chance from here, said an analyst. An association of the Punjabi community has raised the demand for the selection of its candidates from the NIT Assembly segment from the Congress, it is revealed.

The recent Pravasi Sammelan held by the association of the Bhojpuri-Awadhi community here in which Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the chief guest has been an example of such a move, as the migrants have raised various demands, including representation at various levels. Hooda had admitted the influence of the migrants in the development of the city and the state.