Congress opts for MLA’s spouse for Vallabhnagar bypoll, BJP goes for a new face
The by-polls in Vallabhnagar and Dhariawad were necessitated due to the death of the incumbent MLAs from the Congress and BJP, respectively.
JAIPUR: The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced their candidates for bypolls to be held on Vallabhnagar (Udaipur) and Dhariawad (Pratapgarh) assembly seats in Rajasthan later this month.
The candidates were named ahead of the Friday deadline to file nominations for the polling scheduled on October 30. The votes will be counted on November 2.
The by-polls were necessitated due to the death of Congress MLA from Vallabhnagar Gajendra Singh Shaktawat and BJP MLA from Dhariawad Gautam Lal Meena.
The Congress has fielded Shaktawat’s wife Preeti Shaktawat from Vallabhnagar that is expected to witness a triangular fight with three candidates from the Rajput community in the fray; Preeti Shaktawat, Himmat Singh Jhala of the BJP, and former BJP MLA Randheer Singh Bhindar, who is widely expected to contest as an independent.
A senior Rajasthan BJP leader said the state unit had also recommended Uday Lal Dangi for the party ticket “but the leadership gave a ticket to Himmat Singh”.
The Congress would stand to benefit if Randheer Singh Bhindar files his nomination paper since Bhindar and Himmat Singh Jhala would primarily be targeting the BJP’s support base for votes, the BJP leader said, pointing that it remains to be seen if someone else from Gajendra Singh Shaktawat’s family also files his papers.
In Dhariawad, the BJP has opted to give the party ticket to Khet Singh Meen rather than someone from the family of Gautam Lal Meena.
The Congress has named Nagraj Meena for the seat though he lost the last two assembly elections to the BJP, which secured more than 50% of the votes polled in the 2018 elections.
Political analyst Manish Godha said the Congress has played the sympathy card on the Vallabhnagar seat, while the BJP has fielded two new faces, which could increase the chances of infighting.
The two assembly seats are in the Udaipur division, where the Congress did not fare well in the last assembly elections.