As 26-year-old Ravindra Singh Bhati steps out of his convoy as it enters the Baldev Nagar area in Barmer, a strategically important district bordering Pakistan, a crowd of around 100 supporters prop him up on their shoulders and carry him to the ground for a public meeting. Mr. Bhati, an Independent candidate for the Barmer-Jaisalmer Lok Sabha constituency, began his speech by declaring that he was “not a politician” but a “brother and a son” who is contesting election.
Mr. Bhati, who began his political career as a student leader and became an MLA, all in the short span of four years, is now intent on representing Barmer-Jaisalmer, the second largest Lok Sabha constituency in the country in terms of geographical area. His political positioning has unnerved both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress given both the spectre of anti-incumbency and Mr. Bhati’s Rajput origins.
To ensure that he wins the Lok Sabha election, Mr. Bhati is encashing on both his Rajput identity as well as his liberal outlook to become a favourite of the ‘chattis biradari’ or 36 communities of Rajasthan, which includes Muslims. Mr. Bhati affably engages with his supporters, both old and new, who sport shirts with his election symbol - the apple - printed on them.
