Jaipur: As voting began in the first phase of Lok Sabha election 2024, 12 seats in Rajasthan are going to the polls with Congress facing an uphill task to wrest the seats from the ruling BJP.
The 12 of 25 parliamentary seats comprising 2.54 crore voters going to polls in Rajasthan today are Churu, Nagaurm, Sriganganagar, Jhunjhunu, Bikaner, Sikar, Jaipur Rural, Jaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur and Dausa where voting began at 7 am and will end at 6 pm. A total of 114 candidates are in the fray in these 12 seats.
The ruling BJP-led NDA has the psychological edge over the Congress after having won 24 of the 25 seats from the state in the 2019 general elections. Let us have a look at the 12 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan.
Sriganganagar: Kuldeep Indora is contesting this seat on Congress ticket. Kuldeep Indora is considered close to former Deputy Chief Minister and National General Secretary of Congress Sachin Pilot. Former national president of the party, Rahul Gandhi held a meeting in Anupgarh to campaign for Indora on the seat.
Bikaner: Former minister Govindram Meghwal is the Congress candidate from Bikaner Lok Sabha seat. Meghwal is close to former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Anupgarh assembly constituency falls in Bikaner Lok Sabha constituency, where Rahul Gandhi held the meeting recently to campaign for the party candidate.
Churu: The Churu seat is one of the hottest seats of the state where Congress has fielded Rahul Kaswan, who left BJP and joined Congress. State President Govind Singh Dotasara is believed to have played an important role in bringing Rahul Kaswan to Congress and getting him the ticket.
Jhunjhunu: Congress has fielded Brijendra Ola, son of senior Congress leader Shishram Ola and former minister, on this seat. This seat is considered the stronghold of the Ola family. Shishram Ola has been MP from Jhunjhunu seat six times. Whereas Brijendra Ola himself has been MLA for four consecutive terms. Along with this, this seat also holds its own place in terms of Jat politics of the state.
Sikar: Congress has left this seat for CPI(M) as part of a pre-poll alliance. Comrade Amra Ram is the candidate of CPI(M)-Congress alliance. Sikar is the home district of Congress State President Govind Singh Dotasara and here he is considered to have played an important role in the alliance with CPI(M). In such a situation, the election results of this seat will definitely decide the political future of CPI(M) and Congress. Besides, the reputation of Govind Singh Dotasara is also at stake in this seat.
Jaipur Rural: Congress has placed its bet on Anil Chopra as a young face from this seat. Anil Chopra is close to Sachin Pilot, who himself visited Jaipur Rural to campaign in support of Anil Chopra. Along with this, former National President of Congress Sonia Gandhi, National President Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi had also tried to woo the voters of Jaipur Rural by holding a meeting in Jaipur.
Jaipur City: Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, who was a minister in the previous Ashok Gehlot government, is contesting for this seat. Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot have also held election meetings in support of Pratap Singh Khachariyawas. Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi also participated in election meetings here.
Alwar: Congress has placed its bet on Lalit Yadav as a young face. Lalit Yadav has won from Mundawar in the assembly elections held in December last year getting him a ticket from Alwar seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Recently in Alwar, National General Secretary of Congress Priyanka Gandhi had tried to woo the voters by conducting a road show of about 3 km.
Bharatpur: Sanjana Jatav is in the fray as Congress candidate on this seat. Sanjana is a Zilla Parishad member and contested the assembly elections from Kathumar but lost the election by a narrow margin. Congress has given Jatav a chance in the Lok Sabha elections as a young face.
Karauli-Dholpur: Congress has fielded Bhajanlal Jatav from this seat. He has been a minister in the previous Gehlot government and is considered close to Sachin Pilot. Sachin Pilot has also held a meeting in support of Bhajanlal Jatav during the campaigning phase.
Dausa: Congress has fielded Murarilal Meena from this seat. Murarilal Meena was a minister in the previous Gehlot government. He is close to Sachin Pilot, who has also worked hard in his election campaign. Apart from this, Dausa has been the stronghold of the Pilot family. National General Secretary of Congress Priyanka Gandhi also held a meeting in Bandikui (Dausa) in support of Murarilal Meena.
Nagaur: Nagaur is a hot seat in the state in the first phase of elections. Due to the alliance, Congress left this seat for Rashtriya Loktantrik Party and Hanuman Beniwal is contesting for the seat. Former CM Ashok Gehlot is credited to have struck the alliance deal between Congress and RLPA and in the last phase of the campaign.
