Bhilwara: As shocking as it seems, there is a clear battle underway between the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Vitthal Shankar Awasthi and the so-called independent rebel face Ashok Kothari – a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist – for the Assembly elections. Within the district, there has been widespread discontent for the three-time MLA Awasthi for various reasons, and his work is not deemed a priority, according to the citizens and workers in the RSS that NewsClick spoke to from across the town.
Awasthi comes from a different tehsil and was senior BJP leader Vasundhara Raje’s personal choice 15 years ago to fight the elections from the Bhilwara seat. He has secured three long terms since then, banking on the Brahmin votes – constituting the majority in the constituency.
However, around this time, traders, shopkeepers, and every businessman in the city seem to have picked Kothari as their preferred candidate. Given the fact that the candidate runs a textile business himself and also fits into the ideological parameters of Hindutva, he has garnered support from citizens and backing from the RSS.
In a conversation with NewsClick, Kothari claimed that in previous polls, he had been asked by the party to fight the elections, but he refused due to personal reasons. This time, he felt prepared and wanted to enter mainstream politics.
A member of the RSS told NewsClick, “We wanted someone who would represent ‘dharma (religion)’ and have a clean image over anything else. Kothari calls himself and is known to be a ‘gau sevak (cow helper)’ across the city. He helped people in the dairy business during the lumpy disease crisis as well. He fights and takes a strong stand for religion.”
This story was originally published in newsclick.in. Read the full story here .
