look news india
In the era of social media, when a person has millions of followers, it is often assumed that his popularity will spread everywhere. But the latest results of Rajasthan’s Panchayati Raj elections have once again proved that ‘likes’, ‘views’ and ‘shares’ of the virtual screen are never a guarantee of votes at the ballot box. When social media influencer Omprakash Bishnoi, famous for his desi style, food videos and astrological discussions on the internet, contested the election of Sarpanch in his own village Panchayat, the voters rejected him outright. Omprakash, who has an army of more than 21 lakh digital fans, got only 33 votes in the election. After this shocking result, this matter has become the biggest topic of discussion from social media to village chaupalas.
This interesting incident is from Gram Panchayat ‘Indon Ki Dhani II’ under Osian Tehsil of Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. The competition for the post of Sarpanch here was considered quite interesting. The total number of voters in the village was around 1,600. A total of four candidates including Omprakash Bishnoi were trying their luck in the election fray. Omprakash hoped that his wide social recognition, cow service work and digital popularity would directly benefit him in his home area. But when the ballot boxes were opened after the counting of votes, the picture was completely reversed. While the winning candidate and the second placed teacher candidate secured hundreds of votes, Omprakash Bishnoi got only 33 votes. Even the NOTA option got more than 10 votes in the election, making Bishnoi’s defeat even more in the news.
Omprakash Bishnoi is not an ordinary rural youth, but a well-known face on social media. He has 1.4 million or more than 14 lakh followers on his Instagram account alone. Additionally, he has around 5 lakh subscribers on his YouTube channel and more than 2.32 lakh people on his Facebook page. If all the social media platforms are combined, his fan following crosses the figure of 21 lakhs. His videos related to eating traditional food prepared in pure desi ghee, depicting Marwari lifestyle and running a cowshed get millions of views on the internet. When he announced his candidature for the post of sarpanch, his online fans shared it with great enthusiasm, but when the day came to vote, only 33 people out of 1,600 voters in the village were seen standing in his favor.
Even after his crushing election defeat, Omprakash Bishnoi has accepted the results with utmost decency and candour. While sharing his reaction on social media, he wrote that the saying ‘It is dark under the lamp’ has proved to be absolutely true for him. Bishnoi revealed that out of the 33 votes he received, 11 votes came directly from his own family members and the remaining 20-22 votes came from some of his old classmates and close childhood friends. He said that the biggest reason for his defeat was sticking to his principles. Omprakash said that during the election campaign he neither distributed liquor or any other intoxicant, nor gave money to the voters, nor took out a long convoy of vehicles; His election office remained completely drug free. He said that even though he lost the elections, participating in the democratic process without any inducement and in a drug-free manner is a big moral victory for him.
This election result of Jodhpur has given a deep message to both political analysts and digital content creators. Panchayati Raj and local body elections are completely based on personal contacts, caste equations, presence in joys and sorrows and local problems. In rural areas, voters like to choose the person who sits at a chaupal and shares hookah or tea, who works at night and who holds dharnas on drain, road and water issues as their representative. The users scrolling through the reels on the mobile screen may be in any corner of the country or the world, but only those whose names are registered in the voter list of the village can cast their vote. Omprakash Bishnoi has also made it clear that he is not going to step back disappointed by this defeat, but will stay at the village level for the next five years and work on the basic issues of the people and try to win the trust of the villagers.