Apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, water is going to be a poll issue in the Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan. The newly elected BJP government has cleared the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project and the long-pending Yamuna Water Agreement. To take these achievements to the public, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma is holding meetings in the respective areas of both projects, while the opposition Congress is questioning the agreements, accusing the state government of putting the state's interests at stake.
Water has always been not only an important need for the desert state of Rajasthan but also an emotional issue for the people here. This is the reason that after coming to power this time, the BJP government of the state first worked on this issue. With the support of the Central Government, the two biggest and long-pending projects of the state, the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project and Yamuna Water Agreement, were cleared. Through this, the BJP has tried to convey the message that the party wants to contest elections on the core issues of the state.
Two important projects for BJP
The Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project was stuck for the last six years, and the Yamuna Water Agreement to bring water to the Shekhawati region was stuck for the last three decades. Both were inter-state water disputes with MP and Haryana and could not be resolved without the intervention of the Centre. Since there were BJP governments at the Centre and in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, full advantage was taken of this opportunity. In this way, the party has tried to prove its double-engine government slogan.
Besides this, both projects are politically important for the BJP, as through this, the party has addressed the Lok Sabha seats considered challenging. This time, the performance of Congress in the assembly elections has not been very bad, and the party managed to win 69 seats. In BJP's internal assessment, the party has considered Dholpur, Dausa, Tonk, Nagaur, Jhunjhunu, Alwar, and Bharatpur as tough seats. All these seats are from Eastern Rajasthan and the Shekhawati region where the said projects are to be implemented.
CM Sharma begins visits
The Rajasthan chief minister has started visits in the areas that come under the projects, holding thanksgiving meetings to ensure the people that they will soon get water for drinking and irrigation needs. "These are long-pending projects, and clearing them is a significant achievement of the newly elected government, so the party is all set to take it to the public during the election campaign," said a senior leader of the party.
On the other hand, Congress is questioning the agreements and demanding disclosure of the terms of the agreement. The state president, Govind Singh Dotasara, in a recent press conference, accused the government of putting the state's interest at stake while signing the agreements with MP and Haryana.
"The state government is claiming to resolve the issues but not disclosing the terms and conditions of both the agreements. The statements made by the leaders of MP and Haryana clearly show that the state is not going to get any benefit from these agreements," said Dotasara, adding that the party would take this issue to the public.
