By next year, the community’s ire was directed directly towards the BJP. Its then chief Lokendra Singh Kalvi announced that the outfit would back candidates who can help beat the then ruling party — BJP. The outfit had the backing of almost the entire Rajput community. No wonder, only 10 of the 26 Rajput candidates fielded by the BJP won. The saffron party faced a drubbing in the polls and the Rajput anger was believed to be one of the reasons.
This rage, however, did not develop overnight due to just one movie that is alleged to have portrayed Queen Padmavati in a demeaning manner. All of it started in 2014 when the BJP denied tickets to veteran Yashwant Singh — a fellow Rajput from Barmer. Two years later, history-sheeter Chatur Singh — again a Rajput — was killed in an encounter that the community alleged to be fake. The next year, in 2017, another gangster Anandpal Singh — a Rajput again — was gunned down. What followed were street protests for days. The final nail in the coffin was the Deepika Padukone-starrer movie.
The community’s frustration peaked as the perception that they were being ignored gained momentum. This, coupled with the rumour that real-life events involving the queen were distorted, was seen as “Rajput pride” being hurt. Soon, BJP lost the 2018 election.
In fact, the matter dragged further when there was a clash between Vasundhara Raje and Home Minister Amit Shah over the appointment of the state BJP president. While Shah preferred Jodhpur MP Gajendra Shekhawat — a Rajput — Raje was against the decision. Many Rajputs still hold it against Raje.
2 moves that check-mated the anger
Cut to 2023, Polo player Bhavani Singh Kalvi, son of the late Lokendra Singh Kalvi — the same person who in 2018 gave a call to defeat the BJP — joined the saffron party.
Rather than making him join in Jaipur, he was flown to Delhi and inducted at the BJP headquarters in the presence of state president CP Joshi, Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, and MP Diya Kumari. Sources in the BJP say the idea was to “restore” the faith in the party by acknowledging what is most important for a Rajput — “pride”.
If that was not enough, the BJP had another googly ready. They made Vishwaraj Singh Mewar — the descendant of Maharana Pratap — join the party. It was after three decades that someone from his family had joined politics. Mewar has been fielded from Nathdwara — a seat occupied by Congress’ CP Joshi.
Despite having good approval ratings, a source said Joshi has personally instructed every Congress cadre in a meeting not to attack Mewar, fearful of the Rajputs’ “hurt pride”. Mewar was officially inducted by party president JP Nadda — a conscious decision to send out a message that the BJP has deep respect for the community. When asked how long the negotiation between him and the BJP lasted, he simply said: “All I can say is JP Nadda made me feel very welcome.”
So have the moves worked?
News18 visited Chhitorgarh — the land of Padmavati — where the 2018 fire started and met a slew of Rajputs — men, women, professionals, and those associated with business — from other parts of Rajasthan as well. The overwhelming sense was that Rajputs were back with the BJP.
Amid claps from fellow Rajputs around, Phoolwati, a sexagenarian, tells News18: “I don’t have any animosity towards the BJP. I will vote in the name of Modi-ji.”
A relatively young housewife, Lalita, compares their association with BJP to a family. “When you live in a family, some differences do pop up. Yes, we had some glitches. But now everything is fine. Rajputs have always been with the BJP. We were and are with the BJP.”
Ganpat Singh Shekhawat is in marketing and sales and lives on the outskirts of Jaipur. When asked about the equation, he takes a nuanced position. He concedes some problems still persist but makes a case for the governance style between the state and the Centre. “My vote is for development. If we start looking from a community prism, that is not fair,” he says.
Meanwhile, local Hanuman Singh Rathore, who sports a tilak on his forehead, says it would be wrong to suggest that there was no problem between the Rajputs and the BJP. “Look, during elections, every community wants better representation. So do Rajputs. But we don’t have any special anger for the BJP.” He adds that Mewar joining BJP makes a difference for them: “Bilkul farq padta hai”.
However, not everyone is happy. Bhoor Singh Ranawat, who runs a kirana shop, complains: “The old grievances are addressed. But now BJP has started the trend of fielding outsiders where a Rajput leader is a sitting MLA. We aren’t happy about that. Rajputs here won’t go with BJP for that reason.” But Ranawat represents a minuscule percentage and even for him, the old complaints don’t exist anymore.
A few districts away from Ranawat, a middle-aged housewife, Neetu, says her vote is with the BJP. Her neighbour, a retired RPF personnel from the community, says Rajputs will back those who have backed the nation and “dharma”.
The spark that was ignited in 2014 and was allowed to blow up into a major fire in 2018 is seemingly doused in 2023.
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