Not too forthcoming initially on giving away his choice of party, Ramesh Sharma’s sheepish smile turns into a broad grin at the mention of Narendra Modi. Modi ki hawa hi nahi, leher bhi hai, he asserts proudly, suggesting both a wave and an undercurrent of the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate in the desert State.
But before I take him to be a die-hard Modi fan and think of moving ahead, Sharma, a tourist guide at the Amber Palace, also called the Amer Fort, reasons. It’s the BJP’s focus on ‘Tourism’ – one of the five Ts the party has identified in its manifesto – that has strengthened his faith in Modi. “I support him for being a development-oriented leader. However, for people like us who depend on tourism for a livelihood, there cannot be a better promise,” he says, his voice louder with excitement.
Taking me to be a tourist, he had tried persuading me to hire him for the guided tour inside the Fort saying, “You will be lost inside. It’s a completely different world. Who will tell you the Fort’s historical importanceIJ”
But once the Modi query pops up, the smooth-talking operator in him gives way to plainspeak: “We all work hard and still cannot earn enough to sustain our families. If a concrete policy benefiting all of us in the tourism sector gets implemented, a similar effort of ours will yield greater dividends. We can give ourselves and our families a better life. Do we not have a right to a better lifeIJ”
“And, also, I would not need to persuade you the way I did,” he admits. His friends – all engaged in the tourism trade – join in with a hearty laugh but back his contentions to the hilt. “No other party has talked about Tourism the way BJP has. Modi means business,” they point out.
No wonder then that in this tourist hotspot, among others the BJP is also promising to make the State’s capital a heritage city. Targeting its rival, the BJP is also citing the declining trend in tourists’ arrival in Rajasthan during former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s tenure.
With tourism’s share being a whopping 14 percent to the State GDP, the focus on the sector is well understood.
Interestingly, a few kilometres away at the Jal Mahal, Ranjana Banerjee, a tourist from Bengal, shares almost a similar view oblivious of Sharma and friends’ take. “Bengalis are avid tourists and we comprise the biggest chunk of domestic tourists. Bengal also has its own tourist hotspots. It’s Mamata Banerjee in our State. However, I hope Modi doesn’t discriminate in implementing his tourism policy if he comes to power.”
Both Rajasthan and Bengal share a common phenomenon. They have lost out on tourists, who have preferred North Indian destinations in the last few years.
But what stands in stark contrast from Delhi is that despite the buzz about Modi, he doesn’t stare at you from the billboards at all nooks and corners. Nor does a Rahul Gandhi or an Arvind Kejriwal!
The BJP and Congress’ multi-crore ad blitzkrieg hasn’t painted the Pink City red. It’s refreshing to see there’s no over-the-top campaigning with the candidates trying to engage with the masses more on a personal level.
But if you thought the world’s largest electoral exercise hasn’t caught the fancy of the people here yet, you are badly mistaken. Jaipur is in the grip of the election fever, for sure.
A buoyant BJP, riding on the humungous success in the Assembly polls just three months ago, is claiming it will repeat its performance in the Parliamentary elections now. The Congress, though, doesn’t think so amid signs of revival in some of the key constituencies and giving a tough fight to avoid a white wash. The AAP, with its usual surprise element still intact, is only queering the pitch for the two national parties.