Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a goal of 400-mark for the BJP and its allies to cross in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and feverishly campaigns for attaining the same, voters in Shekhawati — the semi-arid belt in north Rajasthan — are pinning for an Opposition which, they feel, has diminished into irrelevance in the last 10 years.
Indifference of the local MP has been felt more acutely. Hari Prasad Sharma, 59, runs a grocery shop at the Chala bus stand in Sikar. Arrival and departure of the buses are marked by the continuous blaring sound of the horn. Amid this noise and bustle, Mr. Sharma settles down for a sugary cup of tea. Rajasthan’s famous onion Kachori is gently bubbling away in a large wok of hot oil on a stove nearby. By his own admission he is not a fan of the Congress or its former president Rahul Gandhi, whom he considers “anti-Hindu”. He is upfront about his 2019 vote. “I voted for BJP and Baba ji,” he said. By “Baba ji” he means the Sikar MP, the saffron clad seer, Sumedhanand Saraswati, who has won the seat twice in a row. Mr. Saraswati has been fielded again by the BJP here. He is facing the CPI(M)’s Amra Ram, who has unsuccessfully contested the seat four times since 2004.
Mr. Sharma is clear that while he continues to admire Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he needs a voice for Sikar. “We need at least one among the 543 to speak for us,” he proclaims. His remarks are appreciated all around. Mahavir Chaudhary, a jeep driver, who is taking a break between his rides from village to town, chips in. “They [BJP] have governments everywhere, that is why they are not interested in doing any work,” he said.
