Tonk, next to Jaipur, has emerged as a hot seat after state Congress chief Sachin Pilot chose to take on sitting legislator Ajit Mehta
With the Congress and the BJP already announcing more than 150 names each for the Rajasthan polls, the veil has lifted over several big-ticket battles. Elections to the 200-member assembly will be held on December 7.
Tonk, next to Jaipur, has emerged as a hot seat after state Congress chief Sachin Pilot chose to take on sitting legislator Ajit Mehta. Pilot has so far contested Lok Sabha polls from Ajmer and Dausa – seats represented by his late father Rajesh Pilot and mother Rama Pilot. It is likely to be an uphill task for Mehta, who faced mass resignations by office bearers. Also, Muslims comprise a quarter of the electorate in the constituency. "Pilot's father-in-law and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah has close ties with the locals in Tonk," a party official said.
Like Tonk, there are some two dozen seats in Rajasthan where heavyweights from the BJP and Congress are pitted against each other or are being challenged by rebel candidates, who have switched side and bagged a ticket.
In Kota (North), two firebrand leaders are in the fray. Here, former home minister Shanti Dhariwal, 75, faces sitting MLA Prahlad Gunjal, known for his unabashed speeches and rants that have, at times, rattled his own party.
Udaipur is set for the clash of the Titans. Home minister Gulab Chand Kataria, the second-in-command in the Vasundhara Raje government, is up against former union minister Girija Vyas. While Kataria is riding on the support of the RSS that has mentored him, Vyas is a local resident and has served in the state and Centre.
The Congress, which is looking to cash in on traders' ire over GST and demolition of temples in Jaipur, has withheld names on most seats, barring Civil Lines where Pilot loyalist and former lawmaker Pratap Singh Khachariaywas has been fielded again. He faces RSS man and social justice minister Arun Chaturvedi who defeated him in last elections.
In Barmer, Congress legislator Mewaram Jain will face off with local MP Sonaram, who has been propped up in a bid to contain the damage resulting from Sheo MLA Manvendra Singh's acrimonious split with the BJP and subsequent switchover to Congress.
Jhalrapatan tops the list of high-profile seats where candidates are yet to be revealed by either both or one of the parties. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is contesting from Jhalrapatan, while the Congress is yet to name its candidate. In Adarsh Nagar (Jaipur), former BJP state president Ashok Parnami awaits the revelation of his opponent. The Congress is mulling over the names of Rajiv Arora, a city-based jeweller and social worker, and actor and former minister Bina Kak.
In Sawai Madhopur, the Congress has bet on Danish Abrar, son of former MP Abrar Ahmed. While Diya Kumari of the former Jaipur royal family is the sitting legislator, the BJP is yet to declare her name. In the Deeg-Kumher seat, currently represented by Vishwendra Singh of the erstwhile royal family of Bharatpur, Congress is yet to declare its candidate. The BJP has fielded Shailesh Singh, son of his archrival and Late Digambar Singh.
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In Kota (North), two firebrand leaders are in the fray. Here, former home minister Shanti Dhariwal, 75, faces sitting MLA Prahlad Gunjal, known for his unabashed speeches and rants that have, at times, rattled his own party.
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