Ramdev ticket demands give BJP a headache

Jaipur: Yoga guru Ramdev wants Narendra Modi to become Prime Minister, but his choice of candidates, at least in Rajasthan, has created trouble for the BJP.

The yoga guru was unhappy with the BJP till it accommodated some of his supporters as candidates. In its bid to placate Ramdev, the BJP named Mahant Chandnath and Swami Sumedhanand as candidates in Rajasthan even though they originally belong to Haryana.

However, these nominations have to led to a revolt by local BJP unit, which is against fielding outsiders.

Mahant Chandnath was a BJP MLA from Behror (2004-08) in Rajasthan after winning a byelection. Earlier, he had lost parliamentary elections from Alwar against Dr Karan Singh Yadav. Swami Sumedhanand has entered politics for the first time. The local party unit is more vocal against him.Former Union minister Subhash Maharia has filed nomination as an Independent from Sikar. In fact, in his speech, at an all-community meeting against Sumedhanand’s candidature, Mr Maharia indirectly pointed out that there was a criminal case against Sumedhanand.

“I do not have a single case of 323 against me unlike the other candidate,” he said, which many believed was targeted at Swami Sumedhanand. The Congress candidate has just retired from the government service.

So strong was the anger of BJP activists in Sikar against Swami Sumedhanand that his convoy was attacked and he could not even go to his ashram here.

“Another problem with Sumedhanand is that he claims to be jat, which is the dominant community here, but the general perception is that he is not a jat, but a jangid (a brahmin),” says activist Ashfaq Kayamkhani.

In Alwar, local leaders have not come out openly against Mahant Chandnath, but are said to be angry with him. “He didn’t come here once after his Assembly term ended in 2008,” one claimant for the ticket said. But Ramdev, who has been hitting out against the Congress over corruption and several other issues, seems to have no qualms about candidates with criminal background and in doing so, he might have jeopardised the BJP’s “Mission 25” of winning all seats in the state. Mahant Chandnath was booked under Sections 302 and 120B of the IPC for murder and criminal conspiracy. and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act.However, the BJP could not have ignored Ramdev because of his proximity to its top leaders like Mr Modi and chief minister Vasundhara Raje.

Ramdev’s name was first heard in power corridors in Rajasthan when he conducted a yoga workshop for Ms Raje and her Cabinet colleagues at the Secretariat. Yet, Ramdev could not manage a ticket for former minister Ghanshyam Tiwari, who did not share a good rapport with Ms Raje.

Ms Raje, who left Mr Tiwari out of the Cabinet in favour of first-time MLA Arun Chaturvedi to raise his profile and promote him as a brahmin leader, put her foot down and chose Ramcharan Bohra, who is relatively low profile and belongs to the anti-Tiwari camp in Jaipur.