With PM's Banswara Visit, BJP Hopes To Recoup Base In South Rajasthan

Jaipur:

The BJP is aiming to make significant gains in the tribal areas of south Rajasthan along the Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh borders, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares to lay the foundation stone for a nuclear power project in the region. This visit is expected to strengthen the BJP's development narrative and reinforce their political position in an area where caste divisions have become increasingly prominent.

Prime Minister Modi will travel to Banswara on Thursday to inaugurate and initiate development projects valued at Rs 1.08 lakh crore. The centerpiece of his visit will be the launch of the 2,800 MW Mahi Banswara Nuclear Power Project, which is anticipated to play a vital role in enhancing India's energy capabilities.

An atomic energy facility is already operational at the Mahi Bajaj Sagar project site. The new nuclear power initiative targets economic advancement in this underdeveloped tribal region, which has recently experienced a revival of tribal identity politics.

This nuclear power project, the second in Rajasthan, is strategically important for the BJP. It allows them to focus on development-oriented politics while also countering the growing influence of regional parties like BAP in south Rajasthan, which have significantly eroded both Congress and BJP voter bases.

In a conversation with NDTV, BJP president Madan Rathore, who was supervising preparations at Napla ahead of PM Modi's visit, stated: "We don't look at caste identities. We only look at development and the BJP is firmly committed to development politics in this region. With the growth of nuclear power, not only does Rajasthan help the country meet its energy goals in 2047, but development will bring employment and help other ancillary industries like tourism in the area."

The Bhartiya Adivasi Party (BAP) has recently gained substantial ground in traditional BJP and Congress territories, securing three assembly seats and the Banswara Lok Sabha constituency. The party's vote share has tripled since 2018, and it won the Banswara parliamentary seat by a margin of 2 lakh votes.

BAP's MP, Rajkumar Roat, has protested against PM Modi's visit, calling for the government to allocate CSR funds from the project toward tribal development initiatives in the region.

However, BJP's Rajendra Rathore, former Leader of the Opposition, asserted that the Rajasthan government has provided full compensation for acquired land and that development is ongoing, with two schools and a hospital under construction in Napla village.