BJP’s Hindutva-based campaign is in direct fight with the Congress’s electioneering based on caste equations and livelihood issues in the 12 Lok Sabha constituencies in Rajasthan that will go to the polling booths on Monday. While the BJP is confident of winning all seats the way it did in 2014, based on the “youth factor”, the Congress is trying to win back the confidence it enjoyed from farmer groups, particularly the Jats.

Most of the 12 constituencies such as Ganganagar, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikkar, and Jaipur Rural are farmer-concentrated areas, and the Congress hopes that measures of the State government, such as the loan-waiver scheme, will have an impact on the voters. The BJP, on the other hand, campaigns that the loan-waiver scheme was of no use for farmers, as parameters such as land limit were framed to keep the majority of them out of the scheme.

In Ganganagar, three-term BJP MP Nihalchand Meghwal is fighting against Bharat Ram Meghwal, who defeated him in 2009. The area, connected with Indira Gandhi canal, has seen a number of protests by farmers for water.

In Bikaner, Minister of State in the Narendra Modi Government, Arjun Ram Meghwal, is facing tough challenge from the Congress’s Madan Gopal Meghwal. The problems faced by Bhujia industry due to GST and demonetisation, unemployment, and lack of irrigation facilities are major issues in Bikaner.

In Nagaur, the BJP is supporting leader of Rashtriya Loktantrik Party Hanuman Beniwal, an MLA from Khinvsar. He is fighting former MP Jyoti Mirdha. The BJP hopes to win the constituency by gathering Jat votes using the popularity of Beniwal among youngsters. The Congress is trying to mobilise upper caste votes that are going against Beniwal, along with Dalit and minority votes – the party’s base votes.

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