New Delhi: The BJP in its bid to consolidate its ‘traditional Rajput votebank’ in Rajasthan has inducted two more prominent faces from the community into the party. Vishvaraj Singh Mewar and Bhawani Singh Kalvi joined the party Tuesday in the presence of Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Rajasthan BJP chief C.P. Joshi, among others.
Vishvaraj is the son of Mahendra Singh Mewar — ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Udaipur — and a descendant of Maharana Pratap, the 16th-century Rajput king who ruled Mewar until his death in 1597.
Bhawani, on the other hand, is the son of Karni Sena founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi, who died in March this year, and grandson of Kalyan Singh Kalvi — who served as power minister in the Chandra Shekhar government.
BJP national general secretary Arjun Singh, who was present at the time of their induction into the party, said “both leaders come from a rich tradition of serving the country through their social organisations and dynasty”. “Their induction will add to the BJP’s strength in Mewar,” added Singh, who is also the party’s in charge of Rajasthan.
Shri Vishvaraj Singh Mewar, descendant of Maharana Pratap and Shri Bhawani Singh Kalvi, son of late Lokendra Singh Kalvi (Head of Karni Sena) join the BJP at Party Headquarters in New Delhi. #JoinBJP https://t.co/LoHrbd4j9B
— BJP (@BJP4India) October 17, 2023
State BJP chief Joshi praised Mewar by saying that he was a descendent of Maharana Pratap who “fought the Mughals and never allowed the Mewar dynasty to become a part of the Mughal empire”. “Even his father Mahendra Singh led a yatra with Atal Bihari Vajpayee during his time in Mewar. The royal family is loved by the people and will bolster the party.”
The induction of these high-profile Rajput faces into the party comes weeks after former state minister and seven-time MLA Devi Singh Bhati returned to the BJP fold in September, having parted ways with the party in 2019.
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Bhawani Singh Kalvi & Karni Sena
A renowned polo player, Bhawani Singh Kalvi is the son of the late Lokendra Singh Kalvi who is viewed as the chief patron of the Shri Rajput Karni Sena — an outfit that claims to ‘represent’ Rajputs.
In the days of the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government in Rajasthan (2013-18), the Karni Sena was known to have a turbulent relationship with the chief minister.
Among the many issues of contention between them was that of reservation for ‘economically backward’ sections among the Rajputs.
The Karni Sena had its maiden run-in with Raje during her first tenure as chief minister (2003-08) after the outfit demanded that she extend the benefit of reservation to Rajputs, in line with the inclusion of Jats in the state OBC list by the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in 1999.
Lokendra Kalvi, along with Devi Singh Bhati, launched an agitation to demand reservation for those among the Rajputs who identified as ‘economically backward’. They then joined hands with Sarv Brahmin Mahasabha founder Suresh Mishra to form the Rajasthan Samajik Nyaya Manch which contested 65 seats in the 2003 Rajasthan assembly polls. Bhati was the party’s only winning candidate and was elected to the assembly from the Kolayat seat.
Kalvi’s political career, meanwhile, never really took off despite joining the Congress, then the BSP, and later the BJP. He had also unsuccessfully contested the 1998 general elections from Barmer on a BJP ticket.
However, the Karni Sena Kalvi patronised received widespread support among youngsters from the Rajput community. The outfit made headlines in 2018 when its workers held demonstrations to protest the depiction of a Rajput queen in Padmaavat. The agitation forced many state governments, including the Raje-led BJP government in Rajasthan, to ban the movie.
Lokendra’s father Kalyan Singh Kalvi was minister for agriculture in the Bhairon Singh Shekhawat government in Rajasthan and also served as minister for power in the Chandra Shekhar government at the Centre.
Lineage of Vishvaraj Singh Mewar
Vishvaraj Singh Mewar, the second high-profile Rajput leader to join the BJP Tuesday, is a descendant of 16th-century Rajput ruler Maharana Pratap. He is the grandson of Bhagwat Singh Mewar, the titular ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Udaipur from 1955 until 1971.
Bhagwat Singh Mewar had two sons, Mahendra Singh Mewar and Arvind Singh Mewar. Vishvaraj is the son of Mahendra Singh Mewar and Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar the son of Arvind Singh Mewar.
Vishwaraj’s father Mahendra Singh Mewar contested and won the 1989 Lok Sabha polls from Chittorgarh on a BJP ticket.
His entry into the BJP now is being viewed as an attempt by the party to strengthen its Rajput credentials following the move of Gulab Chand Kataria, its bulwark in the Mewar region, to the Raj Bhavan.
BJP National President Shri @JPNadda met with the newly joined leaders, Shri Vishwaraj Singh Mewar and Shri Bhavani Singh Kalvi, from Rajasthan. pic.twitter.com/t5b318CA3j
— BJP (@BJP4India) October 17, 2023
Party sources told ThePrint that Mewar could be fielded from either the Udaipur or Nathdwara seat against Congress leader C.P. Joshi, who served as speaker in the outgoing legislative assembly.
The BJP, sources added, had also made efforts to bring Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar — a TED speaker and businessman — into the fold. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat met him several times in the past to convince him to take the political plunge but the efforts did not materialise, it is learnt.
BJP’s Rajput ‘votebank’ in Rajasthan
The BJP, ever since it lost power to the Congress in the 2018 assembly polls, has been actively seeking new Rajput leadership in Rajasthan. The need for these efforts was felt more especially after Vasundhara Raje landed in the crosshairs of the party’s top leadership, said party sources.
Sources added that these efforts included cultivating Diya Kumari, the BJP MP from Rajsamand and member of the erstwhile royal family of Jaipur.
By some estimates, Rajputs make up 10 percent of the state’s population and wield influence in more than 30 assembly seats.
But their influence has been declining. A total of 21 candidates from the community were elected as MLAs in the 2018 assembly polls, as against 54 in 1951.
For many decades, two prominent Rajput leaders from the BJP dominated the state’s politics: Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Vasundhara Raje.
Shekhawat played a crucial role in the BJP’s growth in Rajasthan and led the party for nearly four decades while solidifying support among the Rajputs. He was succeeded by Raje, who served both as chief minister and state BJP president at different intervals over a span of 20 years. She faced virtually no challenge within the party. Former Union minister Jaswant Singh made efforts to that effect, albeit with limited success.
The party, sources in Rajasthan BJP told ThePrint, has been projecting Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore as its next-generation leaders in the state. Inducting a member of the ‘Udaipur royal family’ and the son of the Karni Sena founder, however, is a bid to field a Rajput leader to wrest tough seats in the assembly polls, it is learnt.
“After its miscalculation in 2018, the party lost the support of Rajputs who were a traditional votebank of the BJP. Now, the party is making every effort it can to field the kind of candidates who not only strengthen its Rajput credentials but can also win seats where its presence is weak,” said a Rajasthan BJP general secretary.
The party, sources in the BJP said, is also looking to offset the fallout of its decision to deny a ticket to three-time MLA Narpat Singh Rajvi, the son-in-law of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. After he was replaced by BJP MP Diya Kumari as the candidate in Vidyadhar Nagar, Rajvi alleged that Kumari’s ancestors ‘connived with the Mughals to fight Maharana Pratap’.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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