Split INDIA bloc and ruling BJP face bypoll challenge in Rajasthan

With no efforts being made on the seat-sharing front, the BAP and RLP, which were part of INDIA bloc during Lok Sabha polls, have fielded candidates in their strongholds, making it a triangular contest in three constituencies.

The upcoming byelection to seven seats in the Rajasthan Assembly has thrown a challenge before major parties in the State. With the INDIA bloc falling apart in Rajasthan barely five months after the 2024 Lok Sabha election, its constituent parties have decided to go it alone this time. The ruling BJP, 10 months into office, will face public scrutiny in the November 13 by election to Ramgarh, Salumber, Dausa, Jhunjhunu, Deoli-Uniara, Khinwsar and Chorasi constituencies.

The Congress, Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP), Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) and CPI(M) had together won 11 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the State as INDIA bloc constituents. With no efforts being made on the seat-sharing front, the BAP and RLP have fielded candidates in their strongholds, making it a triangular contest in three constituencies.

An embarrassed Congress is on a defensive mode, affirming that none of the smaller parties approached it for an alliance. Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasra said the INDIA bloc was a “national level formation” and not applicable to the State. RLP chief Hanuman Beniwal, who was said to be keen for an alliance, has fielded his wife Kanika Beniwal from Khinwsar.

The Congress has fielded fresh faces in all seven seats. Two of them — Amit Ola from Jhunjhunu constituency and Aryaan Khan from Ramgarh — are sons of MLAs elected in the 2023 Assembly election.

The BAP has fielded Anil Katara from Chorasi, which is considered its stronghold, and Jitesh Kumar Katara from Salumber. The two were chosen through an internal paper ballot involving a public representative selection process in which party workers and voters participated.

After the seven seats fell vacant this year, the strength of the Congress in the 200-member Assembly has decreased from 69 to 65, while the BJP holds 114 seats. There are eight Independents.

The Congress has won 12 of the 17 Assembly byelections held between 2014 and 2023, along with two Lok Sabha bypolls in Alwar and Ajmer.

After its debacle in the recent Haryana Assembly election, the Congress has taken a conscious decision to mitigate internal strife in Rajasthan, especially between former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot. The two leaders have been assigned with responsibilities in poll-bound Maharashtra in a bid to present a united front in Rajasthan.

The BJP has sought to appease its senior leader Kirodi Lal Meena, whose resignation from the State Cabinet is yet to be accepted, by fielding his brother Jagmohan Meena from Dausa. The Jat-dominated Jhunjhunu seat will witness a direct fight between Mr. Ola of the Congress and BJP’s Rajendra Bhamboo, who had contested as an Independent in 2023 after the party denied him a ticket.

In Deoli-Uniara, BJP’s former MLA Rajendra Gujjar is pitted against Congress’s Kastoor Chand Meena, who is a retired official of Hindustan Zinc Limited. Congress’s Mr. Khan in Ramgarh will contest against BJP’s Sukhwant Singh, who had fought the 2023 Assembly polls on the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) ticket, while the tribal-dominated Chorasi and Salumber seats are set for triangular contests.

Five of the seven seats were vacated following the election of their MLAs, all from INDIA bloc, as Lok Sabha members. Two seats — Ramgarh and Salumber — fell vacant after the death of Congress MLA Zubair Khan and BJP MLA Amrit Lal Meena respectively.

Published - October 28, 2024 09:12 pm IST