After dilly-dallying for several days, the Opposition Congress on Monday extended support to the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) candidate Rajkumar Roat at the tribal-dominated Banswara-Dungarpur Lok Sabha seat in Rajasthan, hours before the deadline for withdrawal of nominations for the April 26 polls ended. The party had earlier fielded Youth Congress general secretary Arvind Damor as its candidate from the seat.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said the party had decided to support the BAP candidate with the primary objective of “saving the Constitution and democracy” in the country. The local leaders of the Congress were not in favour of entering into an alliance with the BAP because of its ramifications in the future.
Mr. Roat, a sitting MLA from Dungarpur’s Chorasi, welcomed the Congress’ decision and affirmed that the two parties, and voters in the constituency, would ensure the defeat of BJP candidate Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, who had recently switched from Congress to the ruling party. Mr. Roat is a founder-member of the BAP, which has emerged as a splinter group from the Gujarat-based Bharatiya Tribal Party.
However, Congress candidate Mr. Damor created confusion by not withdrawing his nomination on the last date of taking back the names. The young leader, expecting to fight the elections as a fresh face, remained untraceable throughout the day. The Congress leadership acted swiftly and took disciplinary action, expelling Mr. Damor from the party’s primary membership for six years.
The Congress will also support BAP candidate Jai Krishna Patel at the Bagidora Assembly seat in Banswara district, where the byelection will be held on April 26, coinciding with the Lok Sabha election. The seat fell vacant following the resignation of Mr. Malviya, who was elected from there for four terms.
Talks for the formation of an alliance in Banswara-Dungarpur have been going on for several days amid objections raised by local Congress leaders, who wrote to party president Mallikarjun Kharge warning about a decline in the Congress vote bank, which would affect the party’s prospects in the local body and panchayat elections. Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was in favour of an alliance with the BAP.
Having emerged as a force to reckon with in a short period since its establishment in 2023, the BAP won three seats in Banswara and Dungapur districts in the 2023 Assembly election. The party’s support base has been growing in southern Rajasthan because of its emphasis on the tribal identity, demand for a separate State for the tribal Bhil community, and the promise of 75% reservation for tribals in education and jobs.
The two other Lok Sabha seats in the State where the Congress has entered into an alliance are Sikar and Nagaur. Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s Amra Ram has been fielded as an INDIA bloc candidate from Sikar, and the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party supremo Hanuman Beniwal from Nagaur, following a pact with the Congress.
