Constituency Watch Nagaur: In Rajasthan’s Jat land, stage set for 3rd showdown between archrivals

Neeraj Mohan

Nagaur, April 13

Nestled in the arid expanse of the Jat heartland of Rajasthan, the Nagaur Lok Sabha constituency is all set for a fierce electoral showdown between two archrivals — emerging Jat leader Hanuman Beniwal of the INDIA bloc and scion of a formidable political dynasty Jyoti Mirdha of the BJP.

Face-off between heavyweights

• This will be the third face-off between Hanuman Beniwal of the INDIA bloc and Jyoti Mirdha of the BJP, each having clinched victory on this battleground once before
• Mirdha, an erstwhile torchbearer of the Congress and latest entrant into ‘Modi Ka Parivar’, now carries the BJP’s mantle, adding a fresh twist to the narrative

The political duel marks the third face-off between the two entrenched adversaries, each having clinched victory on this battleground once before. However, the dynamics of the contest diverge markedly from past encounters.

Mirdha, an erstwhile torchbearer of the Congress and latest entrant into ‘Modi Ka Parivar’, now carries the BJP’s mantle, adding a fresh twist to the narrative. Meanwhile, Beniwal, a prominent figure revered among farmers, continues to wield influence, albeit under the banner of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), in alliance with the INDIA bloc.

The constituency’s demographic tapestry, comprising over six lakh Jat voters alongside 5.5 lakh Muslim and as many Dalits, underscores the pivotal role played by these communities in shaping electoral outcomes. Since Muslims and Dalits have usually been a Congress vote bank, Jats hold the key. Beniwal, the sitting MLA from the Khinwsar Assembly constituency, had defeated Mirdha in 2019, by a margin of nearly two lakh votes. Now, the tables have turned and it would be difficult to make any prediction.

The Congress has won the Nagaur seat 10 times since 1952. The BJP has made repeated attempts to win it, but the party emerged victorious only in a byelection in 1997, and in the 2004 and 2014 General Election. In the last elections, the BJP and the RLP had formed an alliance and Beniwal emerged victorious after defeating Jyoti Mirdha, then with the Congress, by a margin of nearly 1.81 lakh votes.

Mirdha’s grandfather Nathuram Mirdha, a formidable figure within the Congress, represented the Nagaur constituency five times between 1977 and 1996. Nathuram political prowess was evident from the fact that in 1977, amidst the Janata Party’s surge, his was the only seat that the Congress managed to win out of Rajasthan’s 25.

He emerged victorious from Nagaur, clinching victory by a significant margin of over 20,000 votes.

“The contest is very tough this time as both the contenders are strong. Beniwal, with the support of the Congress, is giving a tough contest to Mirdha, who has now switched to the BJP. Besides her own base, Mirdha has an advantage of BJP’s strong leadership as the saffron party has also won last year’s Assembly elections,” says Rajendra Vaishnav, a tea vendor.

Sushant Deshpandey, who works in an eatery in Nagaur, says, “Though both the candidates are strong, Beniwal has a local connect. He comes to Nagaur frequently. Mirdha’s presence in Nagaur, on the other hand, is negligible.”

The BJP won the Assembly elections of Rajasthan last year, but in the Nagaur Lok Sabha constituency, the Congress is a winner as its candidates won four Assembly seats of Ladnun, Nagaur, Makrana and Parbatsar.