Bikaner: It's money versus royalty in a constituency here where a "princess", a hotelier and a billionaire doctor will take on each other in the upcoming Rajasthan assembly polls.
Fielding Siddhi Kumari, a member of the erstwhile royalty, from the Bikaner (East) constituency may cost the BJP dearly in the polls as a party leader has raised the banner of revolt on the issue. Vishwajit Singh Harasar, a hotelier by profession, severed ties with the BJP and is contesting from the constituency as an Independent after the party gave a ticket to Siddhi.
Holding Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and her son, Jhalawad MP Dushyant Singh, responsible for turning him a rebel, Harasar claims the party ignored his good work and preferred "royalty to loyalty."
"They wanted a person with a royal past to contest from here and ignored all the hard work I had put in for the party. The royal family later told me that the Chief Minister was pressurising them to contest the polls though they were unwilling," said Harasar.
Local political observers believe that Harasar will bag a good number of votes from the constituency that has 1.34 lakh registered voters and make a dent in the BJP's vote bank.
Raje and BJP leader Gopinath Munde had personally pleaded with Harasar, who is chairman of local co-operative banks, agricultural market committee and a recently elected city councillor, to withdraw his candidature.
Siddhi is not even a registered party worker and has zero political experience, party sources said. Though she is no political heavyweight, the granddaughter of the late Bikaner Maharaja Karni Singh is said to be popular among women and first-time voters.
