Lok Sabha Elections 2019: BJP fields ex-MPJaskaur Meena from Dausa seat

The BJP on Sunday announced former union minister Jaskaur Meena as its Lok Sabha poll candidate from Dausa.

The party has now announced candidates on all 25 seats in Rajasthan, including three women.

Jaskaur Meena, 71, a former MP has done her M.Ed from Rajasthan University and has written four books. She will take on Murarilal Meena of the Congress.

Jaskaur has a soft image and she is acceptable to other castes too, which seems to be the BJP strategy in fielding her.

The Dausa is reserved for STs. There are around 5.5 lakh Meenas, 4.5 lakh SCs, 2.5 lakh Gurjars, 2 lakh Brahmins, 70,000-80,000 Banias and an equal number of Rajputs, and about 50,000 Muslims on the Dausa seat.

The BJP hopes to get a major chunk of the Meena votes along with upper caste and Gurjar votes. The BJP recently brought Gurjar leader Kirori Bainsla into the party fold with the hope of swinging Gurjar votes in the party’s favour.

Lok Sabha elections 2019: Here is all you need to know about Rajasthan

The Dausa seat became the most contested with BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kirori Meena and BJP rebel Om Prakash Hudla both vying for it.

Kirori Meena, who is already an MP, was seeking the seat for his wife Golma Devi, a former MLA, or for his brother, Jagmohan. Hudla, who is a former BJP MLA and now independent MLA, was also in contention for the seat and was backed by former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, a BJP leader said.

Both Meena and Hudla had met Rajasthan election incharge Prakash Javadekar and BJP national president Amit Shah in a bid to reach a consensus.

The BJP leaders were of the view that since Meena is already a Rajya Sabha MP, Hudla should be fielded on the Lok Sabha seat and Meena’s wife could be brought in from Hudla’s seat -- Mahua.

However with no consensus forthcoming, the Raje camp forwarded Jaskaur Meena’s name as her candidature carried more weight than Golma’s and was acceptable to all, the BJP leader said.

He said the party delayed the announcement to see if Kirori Meena would oppose Jaskaur’s name. However so far Kirori Meena seems to be quiet as he sees Congress’s Murarilal Meena as a bigger threat, said the leader.

First Published: Apr 15, 2019 14:55 IST