In Rajasthan assembly elections, the CPI (M) is contesting in 28 Assembly seats. The party is hoping to win the polls at some of its strongholds in the state. The left party can determine the results in the constituencies like Khandela in Sikar, apart from Datta Ramgarh and Dhod, Anupgarh and Raisinghnagar in Ganganagar, Bhadra in Hanumangarh, Taranagar in Churu and Dungargarh in Bikaner.
Amra Ram, the CPI (M) candidate, explain that the reason for water being the most important issue of his constituency -Datta Ramgarh- in Sikar district said that in the past three decades, water has completely dried up in some parts of his constituency. He said this has happened because of excessive extraction of groundwater for agricultural purposes and now even at 500 feet below ground level, there is no water. The natural recharge of the aquifers is very slow and the region is facing one of its worst crisis.
Tanka Ram a peanut hawker, on being asked why he would vote for Amra Ram, said that when the latter was an MLA, a scheme was installed in the village to provide water. “If he wins, we are hopeful we will get water through taps and will be able to get rid of the tanker lobby,” he said. Amra Ram has been able to strike a chord with the people as he has focused on water and development of roads. The people know him because he has led various movements, such as against the hike in electricity charges, for debt waiver and for social harmony.
Congress leader Buniyad Ali, while addressing a meeting of the Congress district committee in Sikar, said, “Had Amra Ram and his party not intervened forcefully during the riots initiated by RSS, dead bodies would have been all around.”
The day for both Amra Ram and Pema Ram, the CPI(M) candidate from Dhod, begins early. Mass contact meetings are held in villages from 10 a.m. By the time the day ends, nearly 15 such meetings are addressed. In these interactions, a large number of village people welcomes with garlands and tie traditional turban to their beloved leaders. The presence of people, including a large number of women, ranges from 50 to 500. Some of the meetings even turn out to be interactive where people share their problems. Both Datta Ramgarh and Dhod are predominantly rural constituencies. There is just one statutory town in each of the constituencies. These two constituencies have the strong presence of the Kisan Sabha and Students’ Federation of India. In Datta Ramgarh, there are 276 polling booths whereas in Dhod there are 230. All these booths are being managed this time, said Harful Singh a kisan. Confident of victory, Harful said, “We will win because people know that we have stood by them all these five years despite the fact that we lost last time.” An observer in Sikar there was rebellion in the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress camps in Datta Ramgarh constituency, hence the CPI(M) has a “fair chance” of winning.
Dhod, a constituency reserved for the Scheduled Caste population, support for Pema Ram was evident in the reception accorded to him by the crowds. A strange phenomenon was the fund collection in almost all the meetings held in this constituency. A sum of Rs 10,000 to Rs 55,000 was contributed to the election. This money was collected by the village people. Incidentally, Pema Ram is facing a millionaire in the poll contest, which has encouraged the people to contribute more to ensure that he does not lag behind in the campaign. Another interesting feature of the campaign witnessed was the harmony and unity of upper caste Hindus, Dalits and Muslims. In one of the mass contact programme meetings of Amra Ram, one saw upper caste Hindus, Dalits and Muslims seated on the same dais, which is nothing unusual but for the fact that the dais was created in the gallery of a temple of the village deity. Everyone seemed comfortable sharing the same space and speaking on issues that concerned them.
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