Nadda on tribal-connect campaign to wrest Congress bastion in Rajasthan

Saffron party suffered big losses in state’s eastern region dominated by tribals in 2018
BJP president JP Nadda (Photo | PTI)
BJP president JP Nadda (Photo | PTI)

JAIPUR: Aiming to strengthen the BJP’s connect with the tribals ahead of the 2023 Rajasthan election, party president JP Nadda on Saturday commenced a two-day trip from the tribal-dominated region of Sawai Madhopur in the state.

BJP chief JP Nadda being welcomed by
party workers in Sawai Madhopur | PTI

Addressing a tribal conclave, Nadda took a dig at the ruling Congress and said the party was “neither Indian, nor National nor Congress” as it has now become just a “brother-sister party’. In contrast, Nadda claimed, the BJP “cares for the tribals”.

Significantly, in the eastern tribal belt of Rajathan the saffron party had suffered major defeats in the 2018 Assembly election. Nadda’s visit is seen as an attempt to energise the party workers in the five districts — Karauli, Dholpur, Sawai Madhopur, Dausa and Bharatpur — of the region. The party could win just one seat from these districts in 2018.

SC-ST voters constitute about 32% of Rajasthan’s population. The state has 59 reserved seats, of which 34 are reserved for SCs and 25 for STs. Even though the tribals have been a traditional vote bank of the Congress, the BJP has been making inroads in the last few elections. The ruling Congress, too, has been trying to keep its vote bank intact, and had passed the SC-ST Welfare Bill, which envisages allocating a fund of Rs 1,000 crore for their welfare.

At the tribal convention, Nadda claimed the association of tribals with the BJP is increasing continuously. “You will be happy to know that 47 seats of Lok Sabha are reserved for tribals, out of which the BJP has won 31 seats with the blessings of the people. We are trying to take the tribal brothers into the mainstream.”

Most of the prominent state leaders of the party, including Rajasthan BJP chief Saithsh Poonia, participated in the tribal conclave.

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