All set for Rajasthan Assembly bypolls, BJP looks to overcome LS setback

The stage is set for by-elections on seven assembly seats in Rajasthan on Wednesday, which will have no bearing on the health of the BJP government but are a crucial test for the party and its leaders as they look to leave behind the disappointing Lok Sabha poll performance in the state.

Apart from the BJP and the Congress, Hanuman Beniwal's Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) and Rajkumar Rathore's Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) have also fielded candidates as they face the challenge of defending their strongholds.

The seven seats going to the poll are: Jhunjhunu, Dausa, Deoli-Uniara, Khinvsar, Chorasi, Salumber and Ramgarh. Votes will be cast on November 13 and the results will be declared on November 23.

 

As many as 69 candidates -- 10 female and 59 male -- are in the fray in the seven constituencies. A total of 1,915 polling booths have been set up.

Of the seven seats, four were held by the Congress, and one each by the BJP, Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP), and the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP).

The Jat-dominated Khinsvar seat will witness a triangular contest with the BJP's Revant Ram Danga up against the Congress' Ratan Chaudhary and the RLP's Kanika Chaudhary, the wife of party chief Hanuman Beniwal.

Rewant Ram Danga contested the Assembly election on this seat last year but lost to Beniwal by 2,059 votes. The seat fell vacant after Hanuman Beniwal got elected to Lok Sabha this year.

Danga was a close aide of Hanuman Beniwal but later parted ways and joined the BJP after being neglected. This seat is witnessing a high-pitched campaign with the leaders of all three parties carrying out extensive canvassing.

In another Jat-dominated seat of Jhunjhunu, there is a direct contest between the BJP's Rajendra Bhamboo and Congress' Amit Ola, son of Brijendra Ola, who vacated the seat after being elected as an MP in the LS election this year.

Amit Ola's grandfather was former union minister Sisram Ola, a Jat stalwart of the Congress. Amit Ola is trying to retain the political legacy of the Ola family through this byelection.

Former minister Rajendra Singh Gudha is also contesting the bypolls as an Independent from this seat.

In the tribal-dominated Chorasi seat, there is a close fight between the BJP and BAP candidates. The seat fell vacant after the BAP's Rajkumar Roat won as an MP in Lok Sabha elections.

Deoli-Uniara and Dausa seats are also witnessing contest between the BJP and Congress though Congress rebel Naresh Meena is also in the fray.

Cabinet minister Kirodi Lal Meena's brother Jagmohan Meena is contesting Dausa bypolls against Congress' Deen Dayal.

Two seats -- Ramgarh and Salumbar -- fell vacant after sitting MLAs (Congress's Zubair Khan on Ramgarh and BJP's Amrit Lal) died.

Both the parties have given tickets to their family members, expecting they would garner sympathy votes.

Preparations for the bypolls have been completed. More than 9,000 security personnel will be deployed for security on the day of polling on Wednesday.

"Strong law and order arrangements have been made for free, fair and transparent elections in all seven assembly constituencies," Chief Election Officer Naveen Mahajan said.

In the 200-member assembly, the BJP currently has 114 MLAs, Congress 65, Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) three, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) two and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) one. There are eight Independent MLAs.

In the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year, the BJP lost 11 out of the 25 seats it held. The assembly bypolls are being seen as an opportunity for Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and BJP state president Madanlal Rathore to wrest some lost ground.