Despite resentment, choice shows leadership skill

JAIPUR: Former MLA from Deeg Divya Singh was declared the sixth women candidate in the state to contest on a Congress ticket in parliamentary elections. She was chosen over other contenders, including Sukbhir Singh Jonpuriya, Dr Karan Singh Yadav and Lal Chand Kataria and her husband Vishwendra.
For the party which apparently had a compulsion to allot ticket to the Vishwendra family discovered Divya more suitable, as not only she appeals to female voters but this daughter-in-law of a Jat family is Gujjar from the parental side.Her selection for Jaipur Rural constituency has once again highlighted the acumen of the party leaders in securing more targets in a single hit. Not only has the Congress added one more women to its tally to appeal to the female population, they have appeased the Bharatpur royal family and will also be able to appeal to the Gujjar and Jat community who constitute a large section of the voters in the constituency.
The Jaipur Rural constituency is considered to be a Jat-dominated seat as there are over 200,00 such voters, the inclusion of Shahpura region has also added nearly 100,000 Gujjars to the area. Divya Singh is wife of Bharatpur royal scion Vishwendra who was elected thrice from Bharatpur on Janta Dal and BJP tickets. She herself was elected from Deeg on a BJP ticket, later to leave the party after differences between the royal family and Vasundhara Raje. The family still commands a following in the Bharatpur region and holds immense support from Jats. As Bharatpur gets reserved, the couple looked for different seats.
However, there has also been some resentment among the local Congressmen who look upon Divya as an outsider, "She is neither a resident nor has any track record in the constituency. The people are tired of the royalties and than just caste equations must not be the criteria for ticket allocation," said a dissident Congress supporter.