Rajasthan’s Shekhawati belt has been a playground for poll politics since Jawaharlal Nehru. With the Jats in dominance in Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Nagar and Churu districts, all Prime Ministers have showered sops on the people of this area. Some days ago, PM Narendra Modi did launch “National Nutrition Mission-2022” and expand the “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” movement during his Rajasthan tour, but he made no effort to please the Jats. Even his own party MLAs and MP had expected some praise as a morale- booster. It was the PM’s third visit to the state in seven months. The first one was in Udaipur and the second Barmer. While Nehru had set up the Central Electronic Research Institute at Pilani, Indira Gandhi had laid the stone of a copper plant at Khetari. Deve Gowda had launched a German-based potable water scheme in the salty terrain of Mandwa, Rajiv Gandhi had set up girls’ hostels and AB Vajpayee had announced reservation for Jats, Bishnois and Meos during his Sikar tour. Basking in the party’s N-E success, the BJP believes the PM’s visit will help break caste equations in the Shekhawati region. But the BJP, holding three of the seven Assembly seats in Jhunjhunu, forgets it lost the Surajgarh constituency to Congress’ Shravan Kumar in the 2014 byelections. Election phobia Owing to a string of defeats in the byelections to the Lok Sabha, Assembly, civic bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions since February, a panic-stricken Raje government has announced a number of sops in the annual state Budget, despite the state reeling under a revenue deficit, as per the CAG report-2017. The government has announced a Rs 8,000 crore crop loan waiver scheme for farmers, done away with toll tax on highways, raised the upper age limit for jobs to 40, announced tax relief for various sectors and free college education to middle-class families besides 1 per cent quota for five communities, including the Gurjars. The All-India Kisan Sabha and the Gurjar Sangarsh Samiti have rejected the government’s farm loan waiver and quota.Threatening to revive agitation, the Gurjars are adamant on 5 per cent reservation by bifurcating 21 per cent of the OBC quota while the farmers want loan waiver from not just the coop banks but all other banks too besides implementation of Swaminathan Committee’s recommendations. ‘Congress-mukt’ RS After the Rajya Sabha biennial elections on three seats on March 23, the Congress will have no representation from Rajasthan as the BJP will hold all 10 RS seats. The BJP has decided to give one seat to National People’s Party patron Kirorilal Meena after his “ghar vapsi”. The party has four MLAs. Adieu to jeans No more jeans, Higher Education Minister Kiran Maheshwari has made it compulsory for girls to come in salwar-suit with dupatta or a sari from the next academic session. The boys will be attired in a shirt and trousers. Both would have to wear shoes or sandals.The colour of the uniform would be decided by respective colleges.