8 Lok Sabha constituencies to watch out for in Rajasthan

With the temperatures soaring in Rajasthan, the political battle too is heating up in the desert state that is all set to go to polls in two phases this month. While the ruling BJP is looking forward to score a hat-trick of complete whitewash in the state, winning all 25 seats, the Congress would like to reverse the trend this time around.

It will be a daunting task for the Congress to turn the tables on the BJP, particularly after the latter’s triumph in the last year’s assembly elections in Rajasthan. The grand old party has been hit by a wave of desertions over the last few weeks as several former cabinet ministers and ex-MLAs have joined the BJP ahead of the elections. Moreover, the reluctance of top leaders like former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot to enter the electoral arena has done no good to the party struggling to bounce back in the state.

The Congress has not been able to win a single seat in the last two Lok Sabha elections even when it was in power in the state in 2019. Now, aiming to improve its electoral prospects, the Congress has forged an alliance with regional parties like RLP and CPI (M) in Nagaur and Sikar, respectively. However, confident after forming the government in the state, the BJP, going solo, hopes to retain its dominance.

Known for the straight contest between the BJP and the Congress in most of the constituencies, the state has some interesting electoral battles lined up in these elections. Among these Lok Sabha seats are Churu, Sikar, Kota-Bundi, Nagaur, Banswara, Jaipur, Bhilwara, Rajsamand and Barmer.

1. Churu: A Jat-dominated constituency, Churu is all set to witness an exciting contest between BJP's new face Devendra Jhajharia and Congress’ Rahul Kaswan, a two-time MP who walked out of the BJP after being denied ticket by the ruling party and joined the Congress just ahead of polls.

Kaswan’s rebellion against the BJP is being attributed by many to his feud with senior party leader Rajendra Rathore who ended up losing the assembly elections last year. The Congress didn’t waste any time to induct him in the party and declare his candidature from Churu.

Located in northern Rajasthan, Churu Lok Sabha seat has 8 assembly segments, of which the Congress has its MLAs in five, the BJP has two seats, and the BSP one. Though the Congress was in a strong position in the constituency, the party chose to place its bet on the BJP turncoat instead of fielding one of its own leaders.

2. Kota-Bundi: The Congress has roped in another influential BJP leader, former MLA Prahlad Gunjal, to take on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in Kota-Bundi constituency. Known for his proximity to former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Gunjal is expected to give a tough fight to Birla who is a two-time MP from Kota.

It will be a key electoral battle to watch out for as Kota has eight assembly segments with the BJP and the Congress having four MLAs each. Though Birla was busy with his Parliamentary schedule, he ensured that he was available as well as accessible to his people in Kota. He won the last two elections with a comfortable margin of over 2 lakh votes. However, it won’t be a cakewalk this time as the Congress candidate happens to be his former party colleague with considerable clout in the Hadoti region.

3. Nagaur: The Jat-dominated Nagaur seat will be witnessing a fierce battle between old rivals — former Congress MP Jyoti Mirdha and RLP's Hanuman Beniwal.

Interestingly, these two leaders had a face-off in the same constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and Beniwal had defeated Mirdha. However, their political affiliations have changed this time. After joining the BJP last year, Mirdha is contesting as the ruling party’s candidate, while Beniwal, whose political outfit had an alliance with the BJP in 2019, has now joined hands with the Congress.

Jyoti Mirdha had also contested the 2023 Rajasthan assembly elections as the BJP candidate from Nagaur, but was defeated by her uncle and Congress candidate Harendra Mirdha.

Beniwal is an influential Jat leader who is popular among the region’s farmers and youth. He had walked out of the NDA in 2020, demanding repeal of the contentious farm laws amid the farmer agitation in the national capital.

Jyoti Mirdha comes from an illustrious political family and Nagaur was once her clan’s pocket borough. Her grandfather Nathuram Mirdha, a Congress strongman, represented Nagaur in the Lok Sabha, for six terms between 1971 and 1996. During the Janata Party wave in 1977, the Congress had won a single seat of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan and it was Nagaur from where Nathuram had emerged victorious by a margin of over 20,000 votes.

4. Barmer: Located in western Rajasthan, Barmer constituency will see a triangular contest with an independent MLA jumping into the poll fray. While the Congress has fielded Ummedaram against BJP's Union minister Kailash Chaudhary, Ravindra Bhati, a first-time Independent MLA and a youth leader, has spiced up the electoral battle.

Ummedaram had left Hanuman Beniwal's RLP and joined the Congress. However, Bhati may upset the poll arithmetic of both the Congress and the BJP. A BJP rebel, Bhati is popular among the locals and that is what explains his triumph as an independent candidate from Barmer assembly constituency in the 2023 assembly elections. He is said to have been vocal about students’ rights, which made him popular among the electorate. A crowd-puller, Bhati’s rallies garnered impressive support from people before the assembly polls.

5. Banswara: A tribal-dominated constituency in southern Rajasthan, Banswara will see a straight fight between the BJP and the Congress-backed Bharat Adivasi Party.

The BJP has fielded former Congress minister and popular tribal leader Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya who walked out of the grand old party after being miffed with it over not being appointed as the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly.

The constituency was earlier set to witness a triangular contest as the Congress had named a fresh face in the form of Rajasthan Youth Congress general secretary Arvind Damor as its candidate. The Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) had already declared its sitting MLA Rajkumar Roat as the party candidate from the constituency. However, hectic parleys between the two parties over the last few days saw them sealing the seat-sharing deal at the last minute. Now, Damor will withdraw his nomination, making it a direct fight in Banswara.

Formed in 2023, Bharat Adivasi Party wields influence in Pratapgarh, Banswara-Dungarpur and Udaipur districts and won three seats in the 2023 Rajasthan assembly polls.

6. Sikar: In Sikar, former CPI (M) MLA Amra Ram is contesting under alliance with the Congress against BJP's two-time MP Swami Sumedhanand. PCC president Govind Singh Dotasra's assembly constituency Laxmangarh falls under the Sikar Lok Sabha seat, yet the party went for the alliance.

The CPI (M)-Congress alliance is expected to pose a challenge to the BJP, as unlike previous elections, there will be no division of anti-BJP votes among the Congress and the Left. On the other hand, the BJP candidate will be banking on the ‘Brand Modi’ and the Hindutva agenda of the party in the aftermath of the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

7. Udaipur: A former Congress stronghold, Udaipur Lok Sabha constituency comprises of eight assembly segments. The grand old party won the Udaipur seat 9 times from 1952 to 2009. However, the BJP wrested the seat in successive elections in 2014 and 2019.

Udaipur will witness an interesting contest between the two former government officers. The Congress has fielded former IAS officer Tarachand Meena against BJP’s Mannalal Ravat, who has also served as a Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) officer in four to five districts, including Udaipur. On the other hand, Meena, who previously served as Udaipur Collector, is known for his ‘proximity’ to former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot. He took a voluntary retirement before joining the Congress.

8. Jodhpur: Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is hoping to score a hat-trick from Jodhpur Lok Sabha seat after two consecutive victories in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

In 2014, Shekhawat defeated Congress’ Chandresh Kumari by a thumping margin of over 4 lakhs votes while boasting a 53 percent vote share. He retained the seat in 2019 with another impressive win as he defeated Congress nominee Vaibhav Gehlot, son of then Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, by a margin of 2,74,440 votes.

The Congress has fielded Rajasthan Congress general secretary Karan Singh Uchiyarda, a Sachin Pilot aide, against Shekhawat in Jodhpur, while Vaibhav Gehlot has been named as party candidate from Jalore-Sirohi Lok Sabha seat.

Though the Congress hasn’t fielded a heavyweight against Shekhawat, it won’t be easy for him this time as voices of dissent are emanating against him from the BJP itself as some of the ruling party MLAs whose assembly constituencies fall under Jodhpur Lok Sabha seat aren’t too happy with him.

Two-phase polls

The Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan will be held in two phases, on April 19 and 26.

In the first phase, voting will be held in 12 Lok Sabha constituencies - Ganganagar, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Jaipur Rural, Jaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur, Dausa and Nagaur on April 19.

The remaining 13 seats of Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Kota and Jhalawar-Baran will go to polls in the second phase on April 26.