In a big blow to the Rajasthan Congress ahead of the state Assembly elections, party leaders Jyoti Mirdha and Sawai Singh Chaudhary on Monday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of state president CP Joshi in Delhi. The inclusion of Mirdha and Chaudhary is likely to be beneficial for the BJP in the upcoming polls.
'I had less opportunities in Congress'
Jyoti Mirdha hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his crucial leadership. "I began as a Congress MP. The Prime Minister is giving a crucial leadership, India is making its name in the world, whereas the Congress is doing just the opposite to it. I had less opportunities there. The workers were overlooked in Rajasthan. The state of law and order is poor here. I will work to strengthen the party and contribute to nation-building," she said.
Who is Jyoti Mirdha?
She comes from a prominent political family. Jyoti Mirdha, a Jat leader, is a granddaughter of Nathuram Mirdha, a veteran Congress leader in western Rajasthan. Nathuram Mirdha had a long and distinguished political career, serving as a Member of Parliament six times and a Member of the Legislative Assembly four times. He also held ministerial positions in both the central and state governments. His legacy and influence in Rajasthan politics have been significant.
Will Jyoti Mirdha's switch help the BJP?
The induction of the prominent Jat leader ahead of the Assembly polls is seen as a move to accumulate the votes of the community. However, it will be interesting to see if the move pays off for the BJP in the upcoming crucial state elections.
This development is perceived as a significant setback for the Congress because Jyoti Mirdha holds prominence in the Jat community, which plays a pivotal role in elections. The Mirdha family has a strong influence within the Jat community in Rajasthan, and Jyoti Mirdha, as a former Congress MP from Nagaur, carries substantial political weight. Considering that Nagaur has a significant Jat population, Jyoti Mirdha's move to the BJP is likely to aid the BJP's campaign in attracting Jat voters in the region.
Big blow to Congress
This is being seen as a big blow for Congress because she is considered dominant in the Jat community and this community plays an important role in the elections. Jyoti Mirdha is a big name in Rajasthan politics. Mirdha family has a good hold in the Jat community of the state. Jyoti has been a Congress MP from Nagaur. Notably, Nagaur is a Jat-dominated area. After his joining the BJP, it will be easier for the BJP to woo Jat voters.
Nagaur, the bastion of Jat, has been under the control of Congress for most of the time since independence. Nathuram Mirdha had been elected as a Member of Parliament from Nagaur six times. Jyoti contested her first election in the year 2009. The people of Nagaur voted for Jyoti by a significant margin, sending her to the Lok Sabha.
Jyoti Mirdha has lost two consecutive Lok Sabha elections
After that, in 2014, Jyoti lost the Lok Sabha elections to CR Chaudhary of the BJP during the Modi wave. However, the Congress fielded Jyoti again in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. At that time, there were objections to Jyoti being nominated once again, but considering the political influence of the Mirdha family in Nagaur, the Congress ignored the opposition voices. However, even in 2019, Jyoti was unable to win back the Nagaur seat and had to face defeat from Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) chief Hanuman Beniwal. Mirdha was defeated by Beniwal by 1,81,260 votes.
Will Jyoti Mirdha's entry end speculations of the BJP-RLP alliance?
Jyoti Mirdha's entry in the BJP has also posed a question of whether Hanuman Beniwal's RLP, which quit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2020 due to farm laws, will again join hands with the saffron party. There were speculations of the BJP-RLP alliance ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP had formed an alliance with the RLP for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan. With Jyoti's inclusion in the party, the BJP has perhaps decided to go solo in the state and is likely to field her from Nagaur against Beniwal.
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