Meet Bhati, whose fans want another Modi

Meet Bhati, whose fans want another Modi

“Laatha rahiya,” says the six-feet tall well-built young man pumping his fist, asking the young men of Goda village to “stay strong”. As he opens the door of his SUV to step out and address a public meeting in this village, he is not allowed to disembark. Men of all ages rush towards him and he is carried on their shoulders to the meeting. Ravindra Singh Bhati, the 26-year-old Sheo MLA who is fighting as an Independent from Barmer, India’s second largest constituency by area, has evidently queered the poll pitch in the largely bipolar polity of Rajasthan.

Going by the crowds his roadshows and rallies have drawn over the past fortnight, Bhati has become a formidable challenger to central minister and Barmer’s BJP MP Kailash Choudhary. Adding the third angle to the contest is Congress candidate Ummeda Ram, who has recently joined the party from Rashtriya Loktantrik Party.

ET caught up with Bhati on his campaign and found an organic campaign being roughly coordinated through walkie-talkies on the ground and propagated largely on Instagram and X. Asked whether it was difficult to fight as an independent, he said: “It is difficult but I am not fighting the election. It is the people of Barmer who are.”

He doesn’t shy away when you ask him how the son of an ordinary school teacher is traversing through the constituency in a fleet of SUVs. “It is all given by people and well-wishers. This car we are sitting in is not mine. My friend here (points to the driver) just got petrol filled with his own money.”

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Bhati had made waves in 2019 as a student of Jodhpur University. He was a member of RSS’ student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. Denied a ticket to fight the university students’ union elections, he took on official candidates and famously defeated a student considered a nominee of then CM Ashok Gehlot. He topped this with a victory from Sheo constituency in the recent assembly elections. Is he a man in a hurry? “No,” he says. “I wanted to remain in the assembly and work but people said I must fight. I sought a ticket and I was kept hanging. I decided to fight as an Independent only about 15-20 days back.” He is promising water, better health and education.

“Even if he doesn’t promise anything we will vote for him,” says Baburam of Goda village. “Modi ab boodha ho gaya hai, hum ek naya Modi taiyyar kar rahe hain (Modi has grown old. We are preparing a new Modi).” He is weighed in apples (his election symbol), people wait for him for hours in the scorching heat and women come out of homes in their veils to show support. He ends his day with scratches on his arms because wherever he goes people want to hold him to see if he is for real. Will it translate into votes? The demographic profile of the constituency is tilted against him if traditional caste arithmetic of Rajasthan is seen. He is a Rajput fighting in a Jat-dominated constituency against two Jat candidates.

“Isn’t it time that we stopped talking about caste?” he remarks when asked about this.

For more news like this visit The Economic Times.