The election chorus is echoing across Rajasthan and the Udaipur district of Mewar region reverberating the loudest. This is the same Udaipur which, in recent times, has come to be known for the brutal murder of a Hindu man Kanhaiya Lal. Kanhaiya Lal was killed by Jihadis who slit his throat in his shop where they entered on the pretext of giving measurements. His crime was that he was accused of supporting Nupur Sharma on social media, and this act was seen as ‘blasphemy’ by the Islamists.
The case had sent shockwaves across the country and sparked several demonstrations against the Jihadi mentality. The incident had stirred emotions so strong in the country that now Kanhaiya Lal’s murder case has become a major factor for political parties in the upcoming elections in Rajasthan. Political parties are leaving no stone unturned to win the elections, but ground reports say that the path for Congress is very difficult this time around.
No justice in Kanhaiya Lal’s murder case, continuous betrayal of the youth in Rajasthan and administrative failure of the Ashok Gehlot government are among the key issues for the Congress that could cost it the next term. People across Rajasthan are also unhappy that the hard work of young leaders like Sachin Pilot is being swallowed by ‘magicians’ like Ashok Gehlot.
People disappointed with Congress’s failure
Talking to News 18, local youth said that the Congress government in the state led by Ashok Gehlot has always ignored Udaipur. Rampant ‘paper leak’ incidents have made a mockery of exams and recruitment for government posts. No recruitment is being completed. Unemployment is increasing rapidly and a common man like Kanhaiya Lal is murdered in a terrorist attack in Udaipur. Is this how the administration works? Common people are also expressing displeasure over the election freebies announced by the Ashok Gehlot government.
People said that if the administrative system was good, neither scandals like paper leaks would have happened continuously nor people like Kanhaiya Lal would have lost their lives. In such a situation, Ashok Gehlot would not have needed election rallies. A Muslim youth named Iqbal said that earlier there was no communal tension in Rajasthan, but now due to the leaders, Rajasthan has also become electorally communalised.
The tragic incident in Udaipur is a vote bank opportunity for Congress: Prime Minister Modi
The entire Hindu community appeared united against the murder of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur. Raising the issue in a rally in Chittorgarh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reminded the public about the condition of law and order under Ashok Gehlot’s rule. The PM blamed the Congress government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in the rally in Chittorgarh, “Nobody had even imagined what happened in Udaipur. People come on the pretext of getting clothes stitched and without any fear or dread, they slit the tailor’s throat. Congress only saw the vote bank in this case too.”
PM Modi asked the people at the rally what the Congress-ruled Rajasthan government did in the Udaipur tailor murder case. He asked if it did vote bank politics. Kanhaiya Lal Teli was murdered for supporting suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma. The video of the chilling murder went viral on social media.
BJP has a keen eye on Udaipur
The Bharatiya Janata Party has a special focus on the Udaipur district. There are many reasons for this, but the one reason which is affecting the entire election is the cornering of Congress due to Muslim appeasement and the Hindutva card of the BJP.
Five out of eight assembly seats of Udaipur may have been in the reserved category, but the Udaipur assembly seat, which affects the entire district, has been in the possession of the BJP for a long time. It is from here that Amit Shah started the election battle of Rajasthan while BJP National President JP Nadda has also kept Udaipur district on priority.
Congress accused of vote bank politics
Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a rally in Udaipur on 30th June 2023. Enumerating the misgovernance of Ashok Gehlot, Amit Shah said, “Ashok Gehlot’s government is number one in corruption. Today you have a chance to demand accountability as to whose two crore rupees and one kilo of gold were found inside the Rajasthan secretariat? This government has done the work of breaking all records of corruption.”
He added, “Gehlot ji broke all the promises he had made. They did not provide security to Kanhaiya Lal. Your police remained silent until he died. You did not even want to arrest the accused… NIA caught them. Rajasthan government does not form special courts otherwise Kanhaiya Lal’s culprits would have been hanged by now. They should be ashamed, they do vote bank politics.”
Kanhaiya Lal’s ashes are demanding justice
On 28th June 2022, tailor Kanhaiya Lal was brutally murdered by two Islamists in Udaipur. Kanhaiya Lal was a Hindu whose son had posted on social media in support of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. After this post, Kanhaiya Lal was receiving continuous threats. On the day of the murder, two people – Mohammad Riyaz Ansari and Mohammad Ghaus came to his shop and attacked Kanhaiya Lal with sharp weapons.
They murdered Kanhaiya Lal by slitting his throat and then posted the video of the murder on social media. In this video, both the attackers described the murder of Kanhaiya Lal as a “statement” and said that they had killed him for his support for Nupur Sharma.
The murder of Kanhaiya Lal created an atmosphere of outrage and anger in the entire country. Despite almost one and a half years having passed since the murder, the killers have not been punished yet, and Kanhaiya Lal’s ashes have also not been immersed. The court has also granted bail to an accused in this case.
In the year 2018, BJP had won 6 out of 8 seats in Udaipur
There are eight assembly seats in Udaipur. Out of these, the BJP had won six seats whereas Congress had to make do with only two seats. Gogunda, Kherwada, Jhadol, Udaipur (Rural), Salumbar, Mavli, Udaipur and Vallabhnagar assembly seats fall in the Udaipur district. Of these, the first five assembly seats were reserved for the ST category in the 2018 elections.
Out of this, Dayaram Parmar of Congress had won the Kherwada (reserved) seat. Gajendra Singh Shaktawat of Congress had won the Vallabhnagar seat. After Shaktawat’s untimely death due to Coronavirus, his wife won the by-election. The remaining six assembly seats were held by BJP.
Gulabchand Kataria has been dominating the Udaipur assembly seat for a long time and has held important positions. Udaipur district is considered the stronghold of Kataria. Last February, the Central Government relieved Kataria from the post of Leader of the Opposition and made him the Governor. He may have moved away from active politics, but his impact is visible on the politics of Udaipur.
