BJP banks on second ‘PM Narendra Modi wave’ In Bhilwara

Bhilwara

has never elected the same person as its member of Parliament (MP) more than twice. For a win in the

Lok Sabha

constituency, BJP candidate and sitting MP Subhash Baheria has to break the jinx which could be possible if the first time LS candidate of Congress Rampal Sharma fails to cement the fissures within the party.


The country has witnessed 16 general elections in the past but Bhilwara has had one extra, as there was a by-election for the seat in 1964. The by-poll was won by Congress’ Shiv Charan Mathur, who went on to become the state’s chief minister, first in 1981 and then again in 1988.

Congress has won this constituency, which is famous for its textile mills, nine times. BJP bagged it in 1996 when Baheria defeated Congress’ Mahendra Singh Mewar. The BJP candidate, who hails from the Vaishya or Mahajan community, has been groomed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

His first stint as an MP lasted barely two years since the coalition government elected in 1996 collapsed in 1998 and Congress regained the seat in the subsequent general election. Seen as an introvert, Baheria won for the second time, riding on the ‘Modi wave’, in 2014. The RSS man is once again seeking votes in Modi’s name, pushing back local issues like migrations due to unemployment, drinking water scarcity and an unusually high prevalence of superstitions in rural areas, leading to atrocities against women and children.

Congress candidate Rampal Sharma has been the chairman of Urban Improvement Trust (UIT), Bhilwara. Sources said the party fielded him considering the constituency’s caste equations (the seat is dominated by Brahmins, Gujjars, SC/STs) and the development works he carried out during his stint as UIT chairman. Sharma enjoys the backing of Speaker C P Joshi, who was elected from here in 2009 and served as Union minister in UPA-II.

Of the constituency’s eight assembly segments, seven are from

Bhilwara district

and one from Bundi. Congress could win just three seats in the assembly elections held around four months back. Infighting among local Congress leaders is seen as the reason for its poor show here. "The seat is poised for a tough competition, if only Congress can keep its flock together here," confided a local BJP veteran.