Bassi assembly seat, reserved for the Scheduled Tribe (ST), adjacent to the capital, is such a seat, where the voters vote not for any party but for the individual. The result of this is that from the 2008 assembly elections till 2018, only independent candidates are winning from here. The Bassi seat, which came into existence after the delimitation of 1962, has been won by BJP 3 times, Congress 2 times and Swatantra Party 2 times. The figure for this seat in the account of independents is 4. This time it seems, the winning streak of independents will be broken. BJP has made the fight for this seat interesting by fielding retired IAS officer Chandra Mohan Meena and Congress fielding retired IPS officer Laxman Meena. It is interesting because both candidates studied together since childhood. One became an administrative officer and the other a police officer. Both are best friends, but both are rivals in the electoral arena.
The same two candidates face to face for years:
From 1980 to 2003, the struggle for first and second place continued between Kanhaiya Lal Meena and Jagdish Prasad Tiwari. In the year 1980, Jagdish Prasad Tiwari won the elections from here for the first time on a Congress ticket. After this, he continued the winning streak in 1985. In the year 1990, Kanhaiya Lal Meena turned the tables and achieved the distinction of becoming the first independent MLA of the area. He again hoisted the victory flag in the 1993 elections but as a BJP candidate. He again reached the Assembly in 1998 on BJP’s election symbol by defeating Jagdish Prasad Tiwari (Independent) by 3 thousand 620 votes. Kanhaiya Lal registered his fourth consecutive victory as a BJP candidate in the 2003 elections by defeating Congress’s Jagdish Prasad by just 992 votes. This record of Kanhaiya Lal’s victory in the Bassi Assembly seat still remains intact.
Coin of Anju Devi Dhanka:
In the 2008 assembly elections, independent Anju Devi Dhanka defeated Kanhaiya Lal, who was standing as an independent, by 21 thousand 932 votes, putting an end to the electoral rivalry between Kanhaiya Lal and Jagdish Prasad on this seat for the first time since 1980. After this, in the 2013 elections, Anju Devi maintained her charm by defeating Avanti Meena, standing on the Rashtriya Janata Party ticket, by 11 thousand 339 votes. Anju Devi’s winning chariot was stopped by independent Laxman Meena in the 2018 elections and he managed to win by a huge margin of 42 thousand 764 votes. BJP’s Kanhaiya Lal then stood second. Independent Anju Devi Dhanka lagged behind and finished third. Anju Devi is in the election field this time too, but her status on this Meena-dominated seat does not seem to be the same due to which she ruled this seat monotonously for 10 years.
The first winning account was opened by the Swatantra Party:
After the coming into existence of the Bassi assembly seat, in the first election held in 1962, Abhay Singh of the Swatantra Party won and achieved the honour of becoming the first MLA from Bassi. After this, in the 1967 elections, K. Lal of the same party won the electoral battle. Congress’s Munshi Lal opened the party’s account for the first time by winning the 1972 assembly elections. After that in 1977, Shivraj Singh of the Janata Party became MLA from here.
The reward for saving the government:
Laxman Meena, who won the election as an independent in 2018, had supported Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s government during the crisis. The result was that Congress declared him as its candidate for this seat. However, BJP MP Dr. Kirori Lal Meena has a lot of influence on this Meena-dominated seat. His role will definitely affect the election outcome here.
Political history of Bassi
1962 Abhay Singh (Swatantra Party)
1967 K.Lal (Swatantra Party)
1972 Munshi Lal (Congress)
1977 Shivraj Singh (Janata Party)
1980 Jagdish Prasad Tiwari (Congress)
1985 Jagdish Prasad Tiwari (Congress)
1990 Kanhaiya Lal Meena (Independent)
1993 Kanhaiya Lal Meena (BJP)
1998 Kanhaiya Lal Meena (BJP)
2003 Kanhaiya Lal Meena (BJP)
2008 Anju Devi Dhanka (Independent)
2013 Anju Devi Dhanka (Independent)
2018 Laxman Meena (Independent)