Voting is taking place today for Rajasthan Assembly elections. Voting is being held on 199 out of 200 seats in the state. More than 5.25 crore voters will exercise their right in this election. At the same time, about three lakh employees have been deployed to conduct the voting. This time the contest in the state is being considered between the ruling Congress and the main opposition party BJP.
Many powerful leaders have contested from both these parties. Among these, there are 10 faces whose elections are being watched by the whole country. These faces include Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot from Congress as well as famous names like Sachin Pilot, Govind Singh Dotasara, CP Joshi, Narendra Budhania. Whereas, if we talk about BJP, all eyes are on former CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Diya Kumari, Kirori Lal Meena, Mahant Balak Nath. Let us know the seats, political journey and equations of these 10 big faces.
Five big faces of Congress party in elections
1- Ashok Gehlot
Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot is contesting from Sardarpura seat. This seat is considered to be Gehlot’s favorite seat. Gehlot has been holding this seat for the last 25 years. After central politics, when the party fielded him in state politics, Gehlot reached the assembly elections by winning the by-election from this Sardarpura seat. Because the party had made him the Chief Minister of the state in 1998, it was necessary to win the elections. After this he became CM in 2008 also. His third term as CM is going on. BJP has fielded Professor Mahendra Singh Rathore against Gehlot. Rathore is counted among the veteran leaders of Rajasthan BJP. He has also been the Chairman of Jodhpur Development Authority.
2- Sachin Pilot
Sachin Pilot is considered number two after Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan Congress. The party has fielded Pilot from Tonk seat. Pilot is also currently the MLA from this seat. Congress has been successful in winning this seat thrice in the elections since 1990. In such a situation, now it has to be seen whether the pilot’s charm continues on this seat or not. BJP has fielded Ajit Singh Mehta against Pilot. Ajit Singh Mehta had won from here in the 2013 elections. However, Pilot became MLA from here in the 2018 elections.
Also read- Gehlot-Sachin’s new friendship with an eye on CM chair, will it do wonders?
3- Govind Singh Dotasara
Former minister and Rajasthan Congress President Govind Singh Dotasara is also in the election fray. The party has fielded him from the hot seat of Laxmangarh. This seat comes in Sikar district of Rajasthan. The party had handed over the command of Rajasthan Congress to Dotasara in July 2020. In November 2021, he resigned from the post of minister following the one person one post rule. To contest Dotasara, BJP has fielded Subhash Mahariya. There was a face-off between Dotasara and Mahariya in the 2013 elections also. However, then Mahariya had to face defeat.
4- CP Joshi
In party circles, CP Joshi is known as Professor. However, he himself is a PhD. Congress party has fielded CP Joshi from Nathdwara seat. Nathdwara is considered to be the stronghold of CP Joshi because he is also a five-time MLA from here. CP Joshi became MLA in the elections of 1980, 1985, 1993, 2003. In the 2018 elections, he won by defeating BJP’s Mahesh Pratap Singh. However, this time BJP has fielded Kunwar Vishwaraj Singh of Mewar royal family against him.
5- Narendra Budania
Narendra Budania’s name has also been in discussion in the Rajasthan Assembly election campaign. Congress party has fielded him from Taranagar seat of Churu district. Budania is also a former Rajya Sabha member. Recently Narendra Budania was also in the news for his controversial statement. He had reportedly said that even if you have to kill someone to win the election, then kill him. BJP has fielded Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore from here. After Rathore’s arrival, this seat of Taranagar is being counted among the hot seats.
Five big faces of BJP
1-Vasundhara Raje Scindia
Vasundhara Raje is also a former CM and was once considered the leader of the party in Rajasthan. However, in the last few years, differences have arisen between him and the central leadership several times. Like every time, this time too Vasundhara is contesting from her favorite seat Jhalrapatan. Vasundhara has been winning elections on this seat continuously since 2003. Meanwhile, she has also been the Chief Minister of Rajasthan twice. Congress has fielded Ramlal Chauhan against Vasundhara Raje. He defeated Manvendra Singh of Congress in the 2018 assembly elections.
2- Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
Everyone’s eyes are also on BJP leader Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. BJP has fielded him from Jhotwara seat. This time the party has fielded Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who became MP for the first time in 2014, in the assembly elections. At present he is a BJP MP from Jaipur Rural Lok Sabha seat. To contest Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Congress party has fielded Abhishek Chaudhary. Abhishek Chaudhary has also been a student leader of Rajasthan University.
3- Diya Kumari
After Vasundhara Raje Scindia, if anyone is discussed the most in Rajasthan BJP, then it is Diya Kumari. Diya Kumar is currently also an MP from Rajsamand Lok Sabha seat. This time in the assembly elections, the party has fielded him from Vidyadhar Nagar assembly seat of the capital Jaipur. There is a strong discussion in the politics of Rajasthan that if BJP wins the elections then it can make Diya Kumar the Chief Minister. However, he has described it as only imaginary.
4- Kirori Lal Meena
The name of Kirori Lal Meena is included in the fourth candidate of BJP on whom everyone’s eyes are fixed for the elections in Rajasthan. The party has made Kirori Lal Meena its candidate from Sawai Madhopur seat. This time’s election is not considered easy for Kironi Lal Meena because after not getting the ticket from BJP, Asha Meena has staked her claim as an independent candidate from here. In this election, Kirori Lal Meena is in competition with sitting Congress MLA Danish Abrar.
5- Mahant Balak Nath
The name of Baba Balak Nath was also discussed a lot during the Rajasthan Assembly election campaign. Some people even called him the Yogi of Rajasthan. BJP has fielded him from Tijara assembly constituency. Congress has fielded Imran Khan to contest Mahant Balak Nath. Recently, Baba Balak Nath was also in the news for his statements. He compared the election to an India-Pakistan match. He has often been attacking CM Gehlot regarding the attitude of the Congress government towards Muslims. In such a situation, their litmus test will be tomorrow.
Also read- Vasundhara Raje Scindia: 2 times CM, 5 times MP, again contesting from Jhalrapatan, know how much is his property.
