 "LS polls mark rise of Bharat Adivasi Party in Rajasthan's tribal belt")
The just-ended elections marked the rise of the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) in Rajasthan's tribal belt with the party making its debut in the Lok Sabha and also winning the Bagidora assembly by-election.
Rajkumar Roat, the BAP MLA from the Chaurasi seat, secured a decisive win in the Banswara-Dungarpur Lok Sabha constituency, defeating BJP nominee Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya by 2.47 lakh votes. Roat's victory highlights the party's growing appeal among tribal voters.
It was the Banswara-Dungarpur parliamentary segment where Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested that if the Congress came to power, it would redistribute the wealth of people to Muslims and cited former PM Manmohan Singh's remark that the minority community had the first claim on the country's resources.
"This urban-naxal mindset, my mothers and sisters, they will not even leave your 'Mangalsutra'. They can go to that level," Modi had said, addressing a rally in Banswara ahead of the elections.
The BAP made its presence felt in the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly election by winning three seats, indicating its significant potential to shape regional politics.
Its origins can be traced back to the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), established by Chhotubhai Vasava in Gujarat in 2017. Roat and Ramprasad Dindor, formerly BTP MLAs, broke away to form the BAP in September 2023.
More From This Section
BAP candidate Jaikrishn Patel won the recent Bagidora assembly by-election with a significant margin of 51,434 votes, cementing its presence in Rajasthan's political landscape.
According to the Election Commission, Patel polled 1,22,573 votes, while BJP candidate Subhash Tambolia secured 71,139 votes. The Congress extended support to the BAP in this contest.
The Bagidora seat fell vacant following the resignation of Congress MLA Mahendrajeet Malviya, who joined the BJP and contested the Lok Sabha election from the Banswara seat.
The BAP's rise reflects the increasing political mobilisation and aspirations of Rajasthan's tribal communities.
With this by-election victory, the number of BAP MLAs in the Rajasthan Assembly has now increased to four.
The BJP has 115 MLAs in the state Assembly, Congress 69, Bahujan Samaj Party two and the Rashtriya Lontantrik Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal one each. There are eight independent MLAs in the House.