Discounting Vasundhara Raje's prospects before observing the December 3 results would be a grave miscalculation. Despite employing various strategies, the BJP was unable to sideline Vasundhara Raje, as most of the MLAs and 2018 candidates who had voiced support for her secured party tickets.
In contrast, the leader of the opposition, Rajendra Rathore, has gained popularity in Delhi compared to other second-tier state leaders. He not only transitioned from Churu to a neighboring seat, Taranagar, but also successfully advocated for his preferred candidates. Unfortunately, his close associate, Chandrabhan Akya, lost his constituency to Narpat Singh Rajvi, who was accommodated after his seat in Vidhyadhar Nagar (Jaipur) was given to Rajasamand MP Diya Kumari.
The second list of BJP candidates includes notable figures from Vasundhara Raje's faction, such as Vasundhara Raje, Kalicharan Saraf, Pratap Singhvi, Kailash Verma, Siddhi Kumari, Manju Baghmar, Santosh Ahlawat, Samaram Garasia, Govind Prasad, Kaluram Meghwal, Narendra Nagar, Biharilal Bishnoi, Kailash Meena, and Anita Bhadel.
So far, BJP has announced 124 candidates in two lists out of 200 constituencies in Rajasthan, leaving 76 seats yet to be declared. The second list includes eight female candidates.
Noteworthy inclusions in the second list are Jyoti Mirdha, who recently left Congress, securing a ticket from Nagaur, and Shivcharan, brother-in-law of Dholpur MLA Shobharani, who switched to Congress. Additionally, Asam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria's constituency, Udaipur City, has a new face, Tarachand Jain, as the candidate.
However, BJP has denied the tickets to 8 sitting MLAs in the second list. These include Suryakanta Vyas from Sursagar, Ashok Lahoti from Sanganer, Chandrabhan Singh Akya from Chittorgarh, Subhash Poonia from Surajgarh, Mohan Ram Chaudhary from Nagaur, Ruparam from Makrana and Lalit Kumar Ostwal from Badi Sadri, Harendra Ninama from Ghatol.
Two individuals who recently defected from Congress, Jyoti Mirdha and Shivcharan Kushwaha, received tickets in the second list from BJP. Furthermore, candidates who ran as independents in the previous election, Hemsingh Bhadana and Laxman Kalru, were also granted tickets.
Ram Kumar Kaushik is a seasoned journalist with over 25 years of experience across mediums. The architect of this news website, he is also a consultant with several media groups. He was formerly the group managing editor of ITV Network (NewsX, India News and The Sunday Guardian) and its digital products.
