Bhilwara: Discontent in the Meena community surfaced publicly in Jahazpur Wednesday following BJP’s decision to nominate Alakesh Devi Vaishnav for the chairperson position of Jahazpur municipal council, set for an indirect election on Sept 22.Despite the presence of eight elected councillors from the Meena community in the 25-member council, the ruling party opted to nominate a councillor from the OBC community, igniting discontent among the local ST community people. In the lottery drawn earlier to reserve municipal seats for different categories, the chairperson’s post in Jahazpur, though, had gone to general category women.During a meeting held near Mala Ji Maharaj Mandir earlier in the day, community members convened to discuss their grievances with local BJP MLA Gopichand Meena. They expressed dissatisfaction with the party’s choice, highlighting their expectation for representation in the leadership of the municipal council, given their significant presence among the newly elected councillors.The tension escalated with demands for immediate ‘release’ of Meena councillors, whom the community alleged were being held at a ‘secure’ party location. Following the meeting, Meena community members proceeded to the sub-divisional office, where they formally submitted a memorandum to the sub-divisional officer advocating for the release of their councillors.In Jahazpur municipal council, BJP has 15 councillors and Congress has three, while seven are independents. Even as BJP maintains a comfortable majority, the backlash from the Meena community following the nomination announcement has introduced an unpredictable dynamic to the upcoming election.In response to the allegations of confinement raised by the Meena community, MLA Gopichand Meena dismissed the claims, stating that the councillors elected on a BJP ticket were willingly joining a party training camp and were not forcibly detained. “BJP will win the chairperson’s election, and there is no truth about the claims being made by the opposition,” the MLA said.
