New Delhi: Quoting Franklin D Roosevelt to underline his struggles, star par athlete and new BJP entrant Devendra Jhajharia says the political path is tough but the challenges of life are immense and Modi's name from Churu Lok Sabha seat. Will ensure their victory.
Confident that his political debut will be as successful as his two-decade career in sports, India's most decorated para athlete said he is not going to challenge his "turncoat rival" Rahul Kaswan, a two-time MP who joined the BJP after Not worried about joining Congress. Refused to give him ticket.
Churu, a city in Rajasthan which is often in the news for its scorching temperatures, has been a stronghold of BJP and the Kaswan family for the last 15 years. But not anymore, said Jhajharia, who enters politics from his birthplace, where elections are due on April 19. The 42-year-old is a double Paralympic gold medalist javelin thrower."I made my debut at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens by winning a gold medal with a world record and I am confident of registering a historic victory in my first innings in politics too," Jhajharia said in an exclusive interview.
He was just eight years old when he touched an electric wire while climbing a tree. The young boy received medical attention but his left hand had to be amputated. “The path to politics is not easy, but compared to the struggle I have faced in my life so far, this challenge seems small,” Jhajharia said. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt was once asked what his journey to becoming president was. How difficult it was.He said that he struggled with polio so much in his childhood that even the journey to the White House did not seem like a struggle to him. I have also struggled a lot since then. "As a kid, it didn't seem like a big deal," he said.
The javelin throw champion brings similar parallels in his life, especially in his electoral prospects and political path ahead. He said that in the last two elections, Kaswan had won in the Modi wave and now his defeat is certain.
“In 2009, BJP won in Churu by around 12,000 votes.In the Modi wave of 2014, the victory margin was around 3 lakh and in 2019, due to the charisma of the Prime Minister, the victory margin was 3.34 lakh. This time, the margin could go up to Rs 5 lakh,” said Jhajharia, the first para athlete to be awarded the Padma Bhushan, the country’s third highest civilian award. “As far as Churu voters are concerned, Modi’s name guarantees victory. Voters only know that Modi has to be brought back to power and the lotus symbol means Modi."
In his view, the Ram Mandir issue will continue to resonate among voters.“People will not forget that after waiting for many generations, Modi ji gave home to Ram Lala. Wherever I go people raise slogans of Jai Shri Ram. I was there at the inauguration of the temple and everyone had tears in their eyes. Ram Mandir is definitely going to be a big election issue: Sai Jhajharia Speculation that he may suffer due to division of Jat votes does not worry him.
“I don't talk about caste at all. I am a player and I have been taught PU India first.I consider every Indian as my brother…keeping the tricolor high is a priority.
According to Jhajharia, a successful sportsperson and president of the Paralympic Committee of India, he was inspired to enter electoral politics because he wanted to contribute to Modi's dream of making India a developed nation. “In the last 10 years, Modi ji Has made every Indian feel proud. I felt that if I can make even a small contribution to the Prime Minister's campaign to make India a developed nation, it would be a big thing for me.
“If we talk about sports, India's graph has risen so high in the last 10 years because schemes like Khelo India, TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) helped the players a lot and the number of medals increased.So I thought now I have to do public service because I have given 22 years to the game, which is a very long time.”
Jhajharia is confident that he will be able to balance his job and politics as president of the Paralympic Association. He is also planning for Churu. “Being a player, I think positive and stay energetic. The respect I am getting as a player will definitely translate into votes. I will provide all the facilities to the players in Churu which they have not got till now,” said the former Khel Ratna awardee.Accusing the previous Congress government of Rajasthan of corruption, he said that development work has been done in Churu and there is a lot of anger among the people.
“There is a lot of anger among people deprived of drinking water. There has been a lot of corruption in the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme during the Congress government. Drinking water has not reached the people. There is a need to work on connectivity for farmers and youth. Tourism can be developed in Churu, where there are many Dhams like Salasar, Deva Gogamedi. Now with the arrival of BJP government in the state, development work will be done faster.
When asked whether farmers' dissatisfaction with the Modi government was an important issue, he said that farmers were happy with the central government's schemes.“Beneficiaries are very happy with the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Ujjwal Yojana, Kisan Samman Nidhi, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, toilet construction etc. I am campaigning by going from village to village in rural areas and farmers also want Modi government to be formed.” ," He added.
Confident that his political debut will be as successful as his two-decade career in sports, India's most decorated para athlete said he is not going to challenge his "turncoat rival" Rahul Kaswan, a two-time MP who joined the BJP after Not worried about joining Congress. Refused to give him ticket.
Churu, a city in Rajasthan which is often in the news for its scorching temperatures, has been a stronghold of BJP and the Kaswan family for the last 15 years. But not anymore, said Jhajharia, who enters politics from his birthplace, where elections are due on April 19. The 42-year-old is a double Paralympic gold medalist javelin thrower."I made my debut at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens by winning a gold medal with a world record and I am confident of registering a historic victory in my first innings in politics too," Jhajharia said in an exclusive interview.
He was just eight years old when he touched an electric wire while climbing a tree. The young boy received medical attention but his left hand had to be amputated. “The path to politics is not easy, but compared to the struggle I have faced in my life so far, this challenge seems small,” Jhajharia said. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt was once asked what his journey to becoming president was. How difficult it was.He said that he struggled with polio so much in his childhood that even the journey to the White House did not seem like a struggle to him. I have also struggled a lot since then. "As a kid, it didn't seem like a big deal," he said.
The javelin throw champion brings similar parallels in his life, especially in his electoral prospects and political path ahead. He said that in the last two elections, Kaswan had won in the Modi wave and now his defeat is certain.
“In 2009, BJP won in Churu by around 12,000 votes.In the Modi wave of 2014, the victory margin was around 3 lakh and in 2019, due to the charisma of the Prime Minister, the victory margin was 3.34 lakh. This time, the margin could go up to Rs 5 lakh,” said Jhajharia, the first para athlete to be awarded the Padma Bhushan, the country’s third highest civilian award. “As far as Churu voters are concerned, Modi’s name guarantees victory. Voters only know that Modi has to be brought back to power and the lotus symbol means Modi."
In his view, the Ram Mandir issue will continue to resonate among voters.“People will not forget that after waiting for many generations, Modi ji gave home to Ram Lala. Wherever I go people raise slogans of Jai Shri Ram. I was there at the inauguration of the temple and everyone had tears in their eyes. Ram Mandir is definitely going to be a big election issue: Sai Jhajharia Speculation that he may suffer due to division of Jat votes does not worry him.
“I don't talk about caste at all. I am a player and I have been taught PU India first.I consider every Indian as my brother…keeping the tricolor high is a priority.
According to Jhajharia, a successful sportsperson and president of the Paralympic Committee of India, he was inspired to enter electoral politics because he wanted to contribute to Modi's dream of making India a developed nation. “In the last 10 years, Modi ji Has made every Indian feel proud. I felt that if I can make even a small contribution to the Prime Minister's campaign to make India a developed nation, it would be a big thing for me.
“If we talk about sports, India's graph has risen so high in the last 10 years because schemes like Khelo India, TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) helped the players a lot and the number of medals increased.So I thought now I have to do public service because I have given 22 years to the game, which is a very long time.”
Jhajharia is confident that he will be able to balance his job and politics as president of the Paralympic Association. He is also planning for Churu. “Being a player, I think positive and stay energetic. The respect I am getting as a player will definitely translate into votes. I will provide all the facilities to the players in Churu which they have not got till now,” said the former Khel Ratna awardee.Accusing the previous Congress government of Rajasthan of corruption, he said that development work has been done in Churu and there is a lot of anger among the people.
“There is a lot of anger among people deprived of drinking water. There has been a lot of corruption in the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme during the Congress government. Drinking water has not reached the people. There is a need to work on connectivity for farmers and youth. Tourism can be developed in Churu, where there are many Dhams like Salasar, Deva Gogamedi. Now with the arrival of BJP government in the state, development work will be done faster.
When asked whether farmers' dissatisfaction with the Modi government was an important issue, he said that farmers were happy with the central government's schemes.“Beneficiaries are very happy with the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Ujjwal Yojana, Kisan Samman Nidhi, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, toilet construction etc. I am campaigning by going from village to village in rural areas and farmers also want Modi government to be formed.” ," He added.
