Civil Lines a prestigious seat both for Cong & BJP

Jaipur: The one constituency which has become a prestige issue for both, the ruling Congress and its rival BJP, is the Civil Lines. 
    The constituency, after delimitation in 2008, was carved out of areas earlier falling in Bani Park, Kishanpole and Johari Bazaar constituencies. Believed to have the most number of young electors in the state, 58% of the total voters in Civil Lines are below 40 years. Of the remaining, 30% fall in the age bracket of 31 to 60 years while 12% are above 60%. 
    The constituency is presently represented by Congress’s Pratap Singh Khachariawas. His victory in the 2008 elections was a pleasant surprise for the Congress, which eyed it as a hole in the area conventionally believed to be a BJP fortress. 
    While the Congress is eager to repeat the feat and live the pride, the BJP clearly wants to win back the seat, where the RSS has a stronghold. 
    Of the 2.02 lakh voters in the constituency, the Vaishya community has the largest representation at 21%, followed by Brahmins and SC (17% each) and 16% Muslims. 
    The sitting legislator holds good support in the area and on the voters, particularly because he is one of the few public representatives who stood by his voters and against the leaders of his own party including the Mayor and MP. He has never shied away from protesting government policies and decision which were in general seen against the people. The support he continues to get is one of the main reasons he is the front runner for the party’s election ticket for the December 1 polls. According to sources in Congress, the win at Civil Lines seat was more because of the individual capacity of Khachariawas rather that the party. “Khachariawas won the election but the seat raised the count for Congress. He being a strong candidate, the Civil lines is one of the few seats where the sitting legislator is the most serious candidate,” says a Congressman. Ex-MLA Udai Singh Rathore, though, is challenging his candidature. 
    On the other hand, the BJP will have to select its candidate rather carefully. The names doing round as probable candidates for the party are Arun Chaturvedi and Ashok Lahoti, both claiming the ticket. 
    State party’s vice-president Arun Chaturvedi is said to have bargained for the seat with the party’s central leadership some months ago, which is one of the reasons to believe that he has the strongest chance of winning the party nomination. The RSS, whose support is considered crucial for the party’s victory, is reportedly throwing its weight behind Chaturvedi, which also adds to his chances for the election ticket. 
    Former state yuva morcha president Lahoti, who was the party’s candidate for the seat in the 2008 assembly elections, is active in the constituency for the last 5 years and also boasts about the support from the youth in the constituency. 
    There are reports that the surveys conducted by the party hint at Lahoti being a better option than Chaturvedi. “However, that is mainly because the former yuva morch president has been active in the constituency for the past 5 years – connecting to the voters. Chaturvedi, on the other hand, has only recently started working in the constituency but with the RSS backing, might be a better bet for the party,” said a senior BJP leader. The RSS itself has made it clear that it supports Chaturvedi over Lahoti, who had failed to win the RSS support even during the last election. 
    Though, the Civil lines constituency is largely believed to be represented by the upper-middle class voters, it includes nearly 40 kachchi bastis, mainly located in the Amanishah Nullah. The rehabilitation of the residents here is a major issue, especially after the civic bodies launched an encroachment drive against the illegal constructions at the Nullah following high court directives.