JODHPUR: It is about the Jat factor here and Congress is relying on the support of the community as it awaits its turn for a tenure in office in Rajasthan. But apart from Sardarpura where Congress strongman Ashok Gehlot is expected to sail through and Jodhpur City where party candidate Manisha Panwar is seen as a favourite, it is Jat leader Hanuman Beniwal and his newly floated Rashtriya Loktantrik Party , which may play the spoiler.While a strong section of the Jats, a community that is considered a decisive factor in at least 55 of the 200 seats in the state, is seen as backing Congress, Beniwal may well put a spanner in the works.He is seen by many as playing “BJP’s game” in the largely bipolar electoral contest in the state which goes to polls on December 7.In 2013, BJP won seven of the eight assembly seats in the Jodhpur parliamentary constituency. Gehlot was the only Congress nominee to win.As polling draws near, Jat leaders are busy criss-crossing the constituencies to wean away "disillusioned, unemployed" youth flocking at Beniwal's public meetings.That the BJP rebel is attracting big crowds, especially Jat youth, is a talking point in this belt and is giving Congress the jitters.But as he hops from one place to another in a helicopter, the murmurs get louder.“How can a farmer-leader hire helicopter that costs Rs 3 lakh an hour… without BJP funding him,” ask his rivals, former Congress MP from Nagaur Jyoti Mirdha and Prakash Beniwal, president of Akhil Bharatiya Adarsh Jat Mahasabha.“He will be damaging some seats for Congress,” G R Poonia, leader of Rajasthan Jat Mahasabha, told TOI, on his way back from Khinwsar where he held three public meetings in support of Congress.“Our people are working on it. In the next three or four days, a big shift is about to happen and most of those who are leaning towards MLA saab (Hanuman Beniwal) will draw away and move towards Congress,” says Prakash Beniwal.“Jats are mostly farmers ... peasants are angry with BJP… so those who are helping them should be voted for…” said Poonia, adding that Jat Mahasabha had announced not to support BJP earlier and later it has made an official announcement that it will support Congress.Both Prakash Beniwal and Poonia question Hanuman Beniwal’s intentions.“Why has he not put up contestants against all the strong BJP leaders like Vasundhara Raje (Jhalrapatan), Yunus Khan (Tonk), Rajendra Rathor (Churu) or Gajendra Singh Khimsar (Lohawat), when he has put up contestants against Jat leaders from Congress,” says Prakash.“He wants to make a dent in Congress votes,” adds Poonia.The loan waiver announcement by Congress seems to have been received well.“Karza Mafi to Jiwan Daan Hain Kisan Ke Liye. (Loan waiver is like a fresh lease of life for farmers),” says Prakash Beniwal.

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