In the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections, a curious electoral scenario has emerged in Rajasthan’s tribal-dominated Banswara-Dungarpur Lok Sabha constituency. The Congress party, surprisingly, is appealing to voters not to support its official candidate, Arvind Damor. Instead, the party has extended its support to Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) candidate Rajkumar Roat.
Behind this peculiar development lies internal conflicts and a lack of coordination between the state and central units of Congress. After much deliberation, the party decided to support BAP’s Rajkumar Roat, a day before the last date of withdrawal of nominations, despite having already fielded its own candidate, Arvind Damor.
Following the party’s announcement, Damor was expected to withdraw his nomination papers. However, he remained elusive until the deadline passed. Later, he emerged before the media, feigning ignorance about the developments and declaring his intention to contest the election.
The contest, initially anticipated to be a bipolar battle between the BJP and the Congress-BAP alliance, has now transformed into a three-way fight. Damor’s decision to defy the party line is likely to divide Congress votes, potentially giving an advantage to the saffron party candidate, Mahendrajit Singh Malviya.
While the local Congress leadership has urged voters to support Roat instead of their own candidate, Damor claims to have the backing of a faction of party leaders who oppose the alliance with BAP. Vikas Bamnia, a district-level leader and son of Congress MLA Arjun Bamnia, confirmed the party’s support for Roat. “Our stand is clear. We are supporting the BAP candidate,” Bamnia stated. “We are working in accordance with the sentiments of the people and the directives from the party.”
Another local Congress leader echoed this sentiment, saying, “We are explicitly requesting people not to vote for the Congress candidate (Damor).”
Despite the official stance of Congress, several local residents told Press Trust of India that the main contest was between Malviya and Roat. Some, however, expressed concern that Damor’s refusal to toe the party line was embarrassing for the Congress.
BAP, which was established in southern Rajasthan ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections, currently holds three MLAs, including Roat. The Banswara-Dungarpur constituency, reserved for Scheduled Tribes, will go to polls in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on Friday.
During his election campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in Banswara on Sunday. He criticized the Congress manifesto, alleging that the Opposition party planned to distribute people’s hard-earned money to “infiltrators” and “those who have more children.”
Malviya, in his campaign speeches, has accused Roat of misleading the people of Banswara, while Roat has charged Malviya with dividing the tribal community.
Amidst the political tug-of-war, key issues such as education, employment, roads, and electricity have taken a back seat. Candidates are vying to outdo each other in projecting themselves as champions of the tribal community.
A non-tribal local resident observed, “The area lacks industries and job opportunities. Many people from this region work in neighboring Gujarat. Women are also heavily involved in farming and labor work.”
“BAP’s ideology appears radical and could emerge as a threat in the future. They are polarizing people in the name of community, rather than addressing important issues,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Congress party’s decision to seek an alliance partner in Banswara-Dungarpur became necessary after Malviya joined the BJP. Malviya, who served as a Cabinet minister twice in previous Congress governments, quit the party after being denied the post of Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly following the Congress’ defeat in the 2023 Assembly elections. He resigned as MLA from Bagidora Assembly constituency and joined the BJP in February.
As Congress and BAP engaged in talks for an alliance, the lack of consensus on seat sharing and resistance from some local Congress leaders delayed the finalization of the coalition. On the last day of filing nominations, Congress decided to field Damor from Banswara-Dungarpur and Kapoor Singh from Bagidora for the bypoll.
A day before the withdrawal of nominations, Rajasthan Congress in charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa announced on social media that the party would support BAP in both elections. However, in a setback for the Congress, its two candidates refused to withdraw their nominations.
Out of the eight Assembly segments under the Banswara-Dungarpur Lok Sabha seat, the BJP holds four MLAs, Congress has three, and BAP has one.
A similar situation is unfolding in the by-elections for the Bagidora seat, where Congress workers are campaigning door-to-door for BAP candidate Jaikrishn Patel, who is running against their own nominee Kapur Singh.
