Rebels may deny hat-trick For BJP’s Arjun Ram Meghwal

Bikaner once chose Bollywood’s macho man Dharmendra, hoping he would fight for their issues like a real life hero. The film star disappointed the locals, who later termed him the ‘missing MP’ for allegedly skipping the constituency for long.

But then local issues have hardly affected the voting pattern in this

Lok Sabha

constituency, which elected leaders like Punjab-based Balram Jakhar, who served as Lok Sabha speaker. The present election too appears to be dominated more by the national issues than the local ones.

Sitting MP Arjun Ram Meghwal, a former bureaucrat, hopes to retain the seat for the third consecutive term, riding on yet another ‘Modi wave’.

Meghwal

, who is a Union minister, has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a rally in his constituency on May 4, just two days before the seat going to polls on May 6.

With Modi’s rally, the saffron party expects to rein in the rebellion in its local unit that might put rival Congress candidate at an advantage. BJP witnessed protests within its units in a couple of constituencies over repeating the sitting MPs but fissures were bridged once the candidates were declared. Bikaner is the only seat where the party could not control rebellion and its senior leader Devi Singh Bhati resigned. Bhati, a former cabinet minister, is now openly supporting the Congress candidate who is making an electoral debut.

Madan Gopal Meghwal, the Congress candidate, is cousin of the BJP candidate and is also a former bureaucrat. He enjoys the support of state cabinet minister B D Kalla and former leader of opposition Rameshwar Lal Dudi. BJP is relying on the ‘Modi factor’, while the Congress is trying to win over BJP’s disgruntled elements, resetting the caste equation. Of the eight assembly segments in Bikaner Lok Sabha area, four voted for BJP, three for Congress and one for CPM in the recently held state polls.

CPM has fielded Shyopat Ram, who lost the assembly election from Raisinghnagar in Sriganganagar, from here. The parliamentary constituency, which has been reserved for SC candidates since 2009, has been with the BJP since 2004. A combination of Meghwal and non-reserved communities’ votes is seen as the deciding factor here.