Rajasthan Assembly Elections: Key constituencies and contestants to watch out

JAIPUR: As the polling began in Rajasthan, all eyes will be on the key constituencies of Sardarpura, Tonk, Jhalarapatan, Nathdwara, Jhunjhunu, Jhotwara, and Churu among others. Sardarpura is on the list of key constituencies as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has won this seat since 1998. The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Mahendra Singh Rathore from the Congress' bastion.

While from Jhalarapatan, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is contesting again from the seat which she has been winning since 2003. In 2018, she secured 54 per cent votes, defeating then-Congress leader Manvendra Singh, who is now the BJP's candidate from the Siwana constituency, which was earlier a part of Barmer and is now included in the newly formed Balotra district.

Among the highly discussed seats is Tonk, where Congress' prominent leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot is pitted against BJP's Ajit Singh Mehta. In 2018, Pilot defeated the BJP's Yoonus Khan by a margin of 54,179 votes. Moreover, Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra has been pitted against BJP's Subhash Mehria in the Lachhmangarh constituency.

From Udaipur, a BJP's stronghold since 2003, the fight will be between Tarachand Jain and Congress' Gourav Vallabh, who has been famous as the Congress party's national spokesperson. In Jhotwara constituency, BJP has fielded former Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore against Congress' Abhishek Choudhary.

In 2018, Congress candidate Lalchand Katariya defeated Rathore in this seat. Another key constituency would be Nathdwara, from where the BJP has fielded Vishwaraj Singh Mewar, a descendant of Maharana Pratap Singh, against Congress veteran CP Joshi, the current speaker of the Rajasthan Assembly. In Jhunjhunu, three-term MLA and Congress leader Brijendra Ola take on his rival BJP's Nishit Kumar. In 2018, Ola secured victory with 76,177 votes.

Another key Assembly segment to feature in the list is the Churu constituency, currently represented by the incumbent BJP MLA Rajendra Rathore, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly. This time, the BJP has fielded Harlal Saharan from the constituency against Congress' Rafiq Mandelia. Notably, the BJP has fielded Rathore from the Taranagar constituency this time.

Moreover, the BJP has decided to field the Lok Sabha MP from Alwar, Mahant Balaknath, from Tijara constituency, against Congress candidate Imran Khan. Many rebel candidates of BJP and Congress withdrew their names after persuasion.

But still, around 45 rebel candidates from both parties are in the fray. These also include MLAs, former MLAs and party officials. Jhotwara has the highest 18 candidates, followed by Rajgarh-Laxmangarh and Pushkar with 17 each.

While, due to the death of the Congress candidate in Sriganganagar's Karanpur seat, Gurmeet Singh Koonar, who is also the sitting MLA, the election in this constituency has been adjourned. A total of 5,26,90,146 voters will decide the fate of 1,875 candidates, including 183 female contestants, at a total of 51,507 polling stations in the assembly constituencies. The lowest number three are contesting in Lalsot.

This time 419 candidates are contesting less as compared to the last election. A total of 2,294 candidates contested the assembly elections held in 2018. Polling is being held in 199 out of 200 constituencies from 7 am to 6 pm, while the counting of votes will be taken up on December 3. Polling is no longer taking place in one of the constituencies following the death of the Congress candidate in Sriganganagar's Karanpur seat, Gurmeet Singh Koonar, who was also the sitting MLA.