Jaipur: Congress rebel Naresh Meena, who filed his nomination as an independent candidate for Deoli-Uniara on Friday, is set to pose a challenge to both Congress and BJP candidates in the assembly constituency.
Meena, a former students' union functionary, claims to have support of four prominent youth politicians—RLP MP Hanuman Beniwal, BAP MP Rajkumar Roat, Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) president and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad, and the independent MLA from Sheo, Ravindra Singh Bhati.
Congress's alliance with Roat's Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) and Beniwal's Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) has faltered ahead of the bypolls to seven assembly seats in Rajasthan.
Bhati said Meena would receive his support because the latter is a student leader and an independent candidate. Beniwal said in a video message, "I will talk to Azad and Roat and request them to appeal to people to vote for Meena. RLP will extend its support to Meena in Deoli-Uniara."
Roat, however, said his party has not yet promised support to Meena. "We wanted Meena to contest the election on our symbol. But he did not make anything clear. Ours is not a political struggle. It is an ideological and social movement. He should have come to us with a clear direction," said Roat.
Meena said he has sought support from all the four prominent youth politicians. "Beniwalji has already vowed to support me, and he will speak with Azadji. Roat will respond on Oct 30. I am in talks with Bhatiji. We are planning a joint public rally with all four in Deoli-Uniara," he said. "I have also received support from senior Congress functionary Pratap Singh Khachariyawas's brother, Karan Singh, and the leader of Mali Aarakshan Andolan, CP Saini," he added.
Meena's nomination is expected to disrupt caste equations in the seat while drawing youth votes in his favour with the backing of these elected representatives.Congress has fielded KC Meena, a retired official of Hindustan Zinc Ltd, who is believed to be close to Tonk-Sawai Madhopur MP Harish Chandra Meena, who won the seat twice (2018 and 2023) and commands influence over the Meena community in Deoli-Uniara. BJP has nominated former MLA Rajendra Gurjar.
Deoli-Uniara has a sizeable population of Meenas and Gurjars. With Naresh Meena in the fray, votes of both these communities are going to be divided among the three candidates, posing a challenge for both Congress and BJP candidates.