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Caste is the deciding factor in Rewa's three-cornered contest

Sharad Dwivedi in Rewa

Traditionally known as the hub of caste politics in Madhya Pradesh, the Rewa parliamentary seat is all set to witness a photo-finish in what is being dubbed as a three-horse race.

Besides the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, the third vortex of the triangle here is the Bahujan Samaj Party. The three parties are entangled in a complicated web of caste arithmetic.

Senior Congress leader and state assembly speaker Sriniwas Tiwari's prestige is at stake as his son Sunderlal is making a bid to capture the seat. The BJP has renominated sitting MP Chandramani Tripathi, while the BSP has fielded former legislator Ramlakhan Singh Patel.

Other candidates in the fray are Swarana Samaj Party president Laxman Singh, Samajwadi Party candidate Mithailal, Apna Dal nominee Badriprasad Kushwah, Shiv Sena candidate Hari Prakash, Ajay Bharat Party candidate Sheela Kushwah and Samajwadi Janata Party nominee Triveni Prasad. Five Independents are also in the reckoning.

The BSP has emerged as a major force in this constituency in the recent years. After winning the seat twice -- in 1991 and 1996 -- the BSP proved it had pockets of influence outside Uttar Pradesh.

In this Brahmin-dominated constituency going to the polls on Saturday, September 18, parties have apparently fielded their candidates after a deep study of the caste configurations.

The BJP is the only party which is stressing on national issues. With Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee occupying the centre stage in its campaign, the party's poll managers have sought to focus on the Kargil victory.

The Congress, which has faced defeat here in four consecutive elections, is leaving no stone unturned this time. Its campaign has an element of aggression and is concentrated in rural areas.

Congress candidate Sunderlal Tiwari says the BSP is in for a shock this time. ''The BSP is no longer the force in Rewa it used to be because the party has not paid any attention to the constituency's development.''

The number-crunching BSP poll managers, however, do not seem to be bothered by such charges. They are confident that 80 per cent of the Adivasis, Dalits and Kacchis will vote in Ramlakhan Patel's favour.

The Congress camp makes light of the challenge posed by the BJP too. Dubbing the party's victory in the last election as a matter of coincidence, Tiwari claims the party has disappointed the voters at the local level and is thus harping on national issues.

To counter the Congress allegations, Chandramani Tripathi has prepared a booklet detailing the works undertaken by the party in the last 13 months.

And of course, there is Vajpayee.

''There is an underlying resentment brewing among the people over the Vajpayee government's loss by a singular vote. People want to revenge that defeat,'' says Tripathi.

UNI

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