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Chandra Swami launches proxy war against Pilot

Tantrik Chandra Swami, grappling with a shadowy past, is making an unwitting presence in the Meena tribe-dominated Dausa constituency.

Congress heavyweight Rajesh Pilot is locked in a fierce contest with state Transport Minister and BJP nominee Rohitashwa Kumar, the tantrik's childhood friend, in the constituency.

As Union minister of state for internal security, Pilot had taken a strong stand against the controversial tantrik, triggering the latter's swift downfall.

Kumar is now trying to exploit the situation by hammering Pilot's bastion in the February 16 poll.

He had shown his eagerness to dare Pilot even in the 1996 poll, but the party leaders finally settled for Dausa zilla pramukh Kirodi Lal Meena while the former was made party's poll manager in the constituency.

This time too, the BJP was in a quandary about deciding its nominee for this prestigious constituency as both Meena and Kumar had staked their claim. Party bosses finally opted for Kumar, leaving Meena in a sulk.

The effect of the 'Chandra Swami factor' is also being felt by Pilot.

Addressing the media after filing his nomination papers, the Congress stalwart dared Chandra Swami to contest himself instead of waging a proxy war with the help of his childhood friends and disciples.

Quitting his career with the Indian Air Force, Pilot made his political debut by contesting the Bharatpur Lok Sabha constituency in 1980. But later he shifted to Dausa.

Pilot won the Lok Sabha election from Bharatpur in 1984 and 1991 and from Dausa in 1996, but lost in 1989 from Bharatpur. Thus, for Pilot, this will be his fifth term in the Lok Sabha, if he wins.

The electorate in the constituency -- about 1.22 million -- do agree by and large that as a central minister Pilot has been nursing the constituency well and had been taking pains for the Dausa people. The BJP nominee, on the other hand, is being described as an outsider as he hails from Alwar district.

Significantly, Dausa happens to be the native town of Congress stalwart and former Union minister Nawal Kishore Sharma. In the last election, Pilot has mended his fence with Sharma who this time has opted out of the electoral arena.

However, equally important is the fact that Kumar, before coming to the BJP fold, was a Congressman and considered Sharma's protege.

The Meena tribe constitutes the single largest group, accounting for about 20 per cent of the total electorate. The Gujjars, the community Pilot belongs to, comprise 14 per cent.

Five of the eight assembly segments falling in Dausa are held by the Congress and the remaining three by the BJP since the 1993 assembly election.

Of the 12 general elections, and a by-election, the Congress had won eight and non-Congress parties four times since 1952 from this constituency.

Besides Pilot and Kumar, seven other contestants, including former minister Harsahi Meena, are also in the fray.

UNI

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