BJP leaders queue up for vacant Alwar seat

It’s a long list of hopefuls who want to contest the by polls for Alwar Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket. From sitting MPs and MLAs to serving IAS officers to party functionaries and their family members, it is a mad scramble for the seat that has been recently vacated by the demise of Mahant Chandnath.

What makes the BJP clan clamour for the Alwar seat is the fact that unlike Ajmer MP Sanwar Lal Jat; whose kin are expected to be fielded in Ajmer by poll; Mahant Chandnath was neither from Rajasthan nor has a family.  

Alwar is a Yadav dominated seat and there is serious talk of Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan Bhupendra Yadav being fielded. His term as RS MP ends in February next year. But again Bhupendra Yadav belongs to Haryana, though he has been educated in Ajmer. Also the party has currently appointed him to look after its poll prospects in Gujarat.

Another hopeful in the fray is Jaswant Yadav, who currently holds a ministerial berth in the Raje cabinet. The option of his wife or son being given a ticket is also being considered. There was also talk of senior bureaucrat OP Yadav being fielded, but it was more speculative in nature. Also pitching in are district president Dharamveer Sharma and local leader Sanjay Sharma. With over half a dozen wanting to contest, BJP is obviously not short of choice. State BJP chief Ashok Parnami has said “The party will soon take a decision and we will definitely win the seat.”  

On the other hand Congress is still not sure about whom to field. There have been deliberations about fielding former Union minister and Rahul Gandhi’s close aide Jitendra Singh from the seat. There is also speculation that the disgruntled JDU leader Sharad Yadav could step in through Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.

According to a senior Congress leader, “Why is the Congress trying to infuse life in the ebbing career of Sharad Yadav, through Rajasthan. He can make some dent into the Yadav vote bank of the area, but despite his closeness to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, he will get a chance only if Jitendra Singh is agreeable. After all he has the multiple advantage of being close to Rahul, is from the erstwhile royal family and had represented the area as a Union minister.

The yadav saga

Alwar is a Yadav dominated seat and there is serious talk of Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan Bhupendra Yadav being fielded. His term as RS MP ends in February next year. But again Bhupendra Yadav belongs to Haryana, though he has been educated in Ajmer. Also the party has currently appointed him.