Jaipur, May 3
Former Union minister and veteran Congress leader Buta Singh’s entry into the poll fray as an Independent from Jalore-Sirohi Lok Sabha seat has spiced up what would have been a dull contest between two first-timers, Sandhya Chaudhary (Congress) and Devji M Patel (BJP).
This is not the first time that the former senior Congress leader has raised the banner of revolt against the party. He had contested the LS polls in 1998 under similar circumstances and had relegated his party to a poor third by securing a whopping 54 per cent votes. The Congress has fielded Sandhya Chaudhary whose only success in politics is her victory in local body election. The BJP candidate Devji M Patel, who is an industrialist from Ahmedabad, is also a political greenhorn.
Buta Singh entered into the electoral arena from Jalore after the party denied him ticket from Ganganagar Lok Sabha seat where Sikhs have a sizable presence. Irked with the state Congress leadership for “misguiding” the high command over his candidature, Buta seems all set to rock the Congress boat in the constituency.
He is counting on his four terms as MP from Jalore and old Congress connections to make it to the Parliament once again. He is also drawing comfort from the fact that the Congress and the BJP leaders, who are disgruntled with their respective party’s choice of candidate, have started rallying around him. The Congress candidate’s inability to connect with the voters and infighting in the BJP will also work to his advantage. The support from Meena strongman, Kirori Lal Meena, has also come as a shot in the arm for this Congress stalwart.
However, the caste equations may not work in his favour.
While Buta’s candidature is giving sleepless nights to the Congress, the BJP is happy at the prospect of division of votes. “He will certainly eat into the Congress votebank, which will benefit the BJP,” avers Patel. The Congress is also worried because the party finished neck and neck with the BJP in the area during the Assembly elections last year.
