In PM's Grand Expressway Opening Today, A Rajasthan Election Trick

The PM will address a public gathering in Dausa's Dhanawar village which is a 'Gujjar-Meena belt' -- two strong rival communities that dominate the region and form a crucial vote bank.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Sohna-Dausa stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan's Dausa today. The 246-kilometre stretch will benefit people travelling from Delhi to Rajasthan's capital Jaipur, who will now have an alternate and shorter route where travel time will be reduced by over an hour -- from five hours to around three and a half hours. It is also expected to boost economic opportunities in the entire region.

The PM will address a public gathering in Dausa's Dhanawar village, in eastern Rajasthan, which is a 'Gujjar-Meena belt' -- two strong rival communities that dominate the region and form a crucial vote bank. Their votes had in the last election tilted considerably towards the Congress, helping the party defeat rival BJP.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi's pan-India foot march, Bharat Jodo Yatra, recently crossed this part of the state. The BJP is hoping the PM's visit, and the inauguration of this big infrastructure project, will boost the BJP's ratings in this area ahead of the Assembly elections, to be held later this year.

Gujjars, who constitute around 9 to twelve percent of the population, are significant in 40 to 50 assembly seats in eastern Rajasthan. They have in the past launched violent protests for reservation and had recently threatened to block Rahul Gandhi's entry into the state. In the last elections, the grand old party got a majority of the community's vote, in the hope that Sachin Pilot would be made Chief Minister, a first for the Gujjars. Lately, though, Congress has had a rebel crisis at hand, with Mr Pilot openly at loggerheads with Ashok Gehlot, even as the BJP, and the PM himself, are ramping up outreach to the community.