The Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), which has two members from Dungarpur district in the Rajasthan Assembly, on Tuesday announced its support to the candidates fielded by the ruling Congress in the Rajya Sabha elections. The BTP took the decision after meeting Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in Udaipur, where Congress MLAs and Independents are staying at a resort.
After earlier announcing that it it would abstain from voting, the BTP had softened its stand two days ago by offering “conditional support” to the Congress. The party, which wields considerable influence in the tribal-dominated regions of southern Rajasthan, had sought an assurance on its demands, including the dropping of cases against tribal youths in the Kakri-Doongri violence of 2020, and appointments to a backlog of jobs.
BTP MLAs Rajkumar Roat and Ram Prasad, accompanied by some tribal leaders, discussed several issues with Mr. Gehlot “in a positive atmosphere” and put forth their demands while agreeing to support the Congress candidates, said sources in the Chief Minister’s Office. The two BTP legislators said they would stay at a place other than the resort till the June 10 polling.
