NCP wooing farmers in Rajasthan

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, MAY 2. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is attempting to target the farmers in Rajasthan, a segment which other non- Congress, non-BJP parties in the State too are vying to capture. The ruling Congress still commands loyalty of a majority of the rural voters but the drought situation and the general unrest among the farming class over the ever-increasing rates of water and power have made the rural voters look for new fronts to air their grievances.

The renewed NCP enthusiasm perhaps stems from the fact that it could get Dr. Hari Singh, former Congressman and a Jat leader, as its State unit president. Dr. Hari Singh, a former MP from Sikar, was in the forefront of the agitation for Backward Class status to Jats which preceded the Lok Sabha elections. The Jat agitation caused considerable damage to the Congress prospects in the previous Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan. Even when Dr. Hari Singh and another former Congress leader, Mr. Jagdeep Dhankar, were leading the Jat agitation - and Mr. Dhankar was at that time the acting president of the Rajasthan NCP - the party did not gain anything from the movement in the elections or afterwards. The only satisfaction Dr. Hari Singh and Mr. Dhankar could derive was perhaps the heavy losses incurred by the Congress which had to settle for nine out of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the State.

The NCP as a party has not progressed much in Rajasthan during its two years of existence. The fact that Mr. Dhankar was absent when the party president, Mr. Sharad Pawar, came here to address the party's first public rally indicates the former's disillusionment. Other than Dr. Hari Singh, the NCP could get only one more senior Congressman, Mr. Sriram Gotewala, to join its ranks.

Perhaps NCP too, like the Samajwadi Party, the Samata party and the Janata Dal (of both the denominations) is finding it difficult to get leaders to head the organisation. The Samajwadi Party which kept changing its State unit president till recently, finally settled for the former Janata Dal - and then Samata Party - chief, Pandit Ramkishen as president.

The situation is interesting as there could be a following but there may not be leaders! Mr. Sharad Pawar, while talking to mediapersons referred to his party's attempt to take the niche of the third party. ``After rejecting the BJP, the people are now feeling frustrated with the Congress rule. We feel that there is scope for a third party in Rajasthan,'' he said.

Mr.Pawar confessed that the NCP entry into Rajasthan was delayed as it took time to get the `right type' of leader who knew the problems of farmers and who could identify with the rural masses. He was referring to Dr.Hari Singh, who is more known for his acid tongue and harsh feelings towards the Congress Chief Minister, Mr. Ashok Gehlot, as his new find.

Mr. Pawar's assessment on the scope for the third party is correct but the question is whether the NCP would qualify for that. The NCP is not the only party which would like to take that place in the State where power fluctuates between the Congress and the BJP. Going by the recent mass movements, a clear contender for the third party slot here is the CPI(M).

If the capacity to mobilise genuine crowds is any indication, the CPI(M) has started making some impact in rural Rajasthan - limited though it may be going by the size of the Congress and the BJP - through its sustained agitations on issues such as unbundling of the State Electricity Board, increase in power and water rates and regular power supply to farmers.

NCP as a new entrant to the territory has to do something more dramatic than dumping tomatoes in the Jaipur streets - which it did on Monday at the public rally - to attract imagination of the rural people.

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Section  : Other States
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