Rajasthan assembly election 2018:‘Doctor’ faces farmers’ backlash

For Vasundhara Raje government’s water resources minister, this election seems to be toughest in his long and chequered political career.

A medical

doctor

by training, Rampratap made his electoral debut in 1993 from the Hanumangarh assembly constituency. He became minister in the Bhairon Singh Shekhawat government.

The 75-year-old has worked hard in making Hanumangarh a district in 1994 — a move which has given him political dividend. He could establish himself as one of the senior leaders of the district. No wonder, he won the seat again in 1998 elections. However, the BJP leader had to face defeats in 2003 and 2008 assembly elections.

He bounced back in 2013 and was made water resources minister and in-charge of the Indira Gandhi Canal Project, the backbone of the agriculture-based economy of the region, in the Vasundhara Raje cabinet.

This time, he is facing severe anti-incumbency in his constituency, especially from farmers who accuse him of turning a blind eye on their problems. Rampratap, a mass leader, has earned bad name for his son’s involvements in anti-social activities.