The victory of Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) in Banswara in the 2024 Lok Sabha election is set to change political landscape in the tribal-dominated region of southern Rajasthan, as the tribal identity, formation of a ‘Bhil Pradesh’ and an increase in reservation for Scheduled Tribes have come to the centre stage. BAP candidate Rajkumar Roat has won the reserved seat with a margin of 2,47,054 votes.
Mr. Roat, 31, belonging to the Bhil tribal community, has defeated veteran tribal leader, former Minister and Congress turncoat Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Lok Sabha constituency, comprising Banswara and Dungarpur districts, which has been a Congress stronghold, is witnessing the affirmation of tribal rights in a new perspective.
Mr. Roat, a two-time MLA from Chorasi, was instrumental in the formation of BAP last year, ahead of the State Assembly election, as a splinter group from the Gujarat-based Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP). While the BTP had won two seats in the 2018 Assembly election, the BAP emerged victorious on three seats in 2023.
Mr. Roat is known for his strong views on the rights of tribal people in the Tribal Sub-Plan area and reservation for the tribal communities. His victory margin of 69,166 votes at the Chorasi Assembly seat was among the five largest in the State in the 2023 election, which he has followed with a huge margin in the Lok Sabha election as well.
The BAP’s decision to accept the Congress’s invitation to join the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance bloc for the Lok Sabha election has produced rich electoral dividends and enhanced the party’s potential to influence regional politics in the tribal area by coming up at the national stage. The party will be challenging both the Congress and the BJP in future, as the latter will find it difficult to match it on the tribal-related issues.
Mr. Roat also contested against Congress’s official candidate Arvind Damor, who had refused to withdraw his nomination despite his party’s alliance with the BAP. Mr. Damor, the State Youth Congress general secretary, secured only 61,211 votes, as the Congress party workers campaigned against him and sought the votes for Mr. Roat.
Mr. Roat said at a felicitation programme in Banswara on Thursday that he would work for creating employment opportunities for the tribal youths so as to prevent their migration to neighbouring Gujarat. “Malnutrition among the tribal children is a major issue to be resolved… We will also take forward the issue of Bhil Pradesh at the national level,” he said, referring to the long-pending demand for the formation of a separate State carved out of 39 districts spread over four States.
The newly elected MP accused the BJP of sponsoring two Independent candidates of his namesake to confuse the voters, many of whom could not identify the BAP candidate while casting their votes. The two candidates with the name Rajkumar collectively polled 1.16 lakh votes, which reduced the victory margin for Mr. Roat.
The BAP has emerged stronger in the State Assembly as well with its victory in the by-election at Banswara’s Bagidora seat, vacated after the resignation of Mr. Malviya ahead of the Lok Sabha election. BAP candidate Jaikrishn Patel defeated BJP’s Subhash Tambolia in the result announced along with the Lok Sabha election results. With this, the number of BAP MLAs in the 200-member Assembly has increased to four.
Jayesh Joshi, secretary of Banswara-based voluntary group Vaagdhara, working on the tribal livelihood issues, told The Hindu that bringing the BAP in INDIA bloc’s fold was a “tactical move” of Congress, which would try to stop the tribal party’s influence with its own political mobilisation. “The votes which went in favour of Mr. Roat were in fact cast as a protest against Mr. Malviya’s decision to change sides and join the BJP,” Mr. Joshi said.
