Rajasthan Elections: Congress Gives Tickets To 3 Independents, 3 Former BSP And BJP MLAs In Third List

The Congress in Rajasthan announced on Thursday (26 January) its third list of candidates, comprising 19 individuals. Among these candidates are sitting ministers, Independent and former BSP MLAs, some of whom have supported the Ashok Gehlot government during various crises.

Notably, 14 of the 19 candidates are sitting MLAs from the Congress or its allies, while the remaining five seats have BJP MLAs. With this announcement, the Congress has now revealed a total of 95 candidates for the elections to the 200-seat assembly scheduled for 25 November.

The list includes Cabinet minister Ramesh Chand Meena, who will be contesting again from Sapotra, and Narendra Budaniya, who is running for Taranagar. Budaniya will be facing the Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore, who has shifted from Churu to Taranagar for this election.

However, seven ministers have not found their names in these three lists. They are Mahesh Joshi, Shanti Dhariwal, Zahida Khan, Saleh Mohammad, Hemaram Choudhary, Lalchand Kataria and Subhash Garg.

Of these, Gehlot loyalists, Joshi and Dhariwal played key roles in the 2022 defiance against a high command directive along with RTDC chairman Dharmendra Rathore, whose name has also no featured.

Sachin Pilot supporters who retained their tickets are Gajraj Khatana (Bandikui) Rakesh Pareek (Masuda) and Harish Chandra Meena (Deoli-Uniara), while Rakesh Boyat, Darshan Singh Gurjar and Murarilal Gurjar of the Pilot-camp could not get tickets.

Additionally, Wajib Ali and Lakhan Singh, who joined the Congress from the BSP, will be running again from their respective Assembly seats of Nagar and Karauli. Similarly, independent MLA Ramkesh Meena got a ticket from Gangapur City.

Shobharani Kushwah, who joined the Congress after being expelled by the BJP in June 2022 for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls, will retain her Dholpur seat. In Reodar, Motiram Koli will represent the party, and from Jhadol, Heera Lal is the Congress candidate.

In Sahara, the Congress has replaced sitting MLA Gayatri Devi Trivedi with her brother-in-law Rajendra Trivedi. From Ratangarh, the Congress has fielded Pusaram Godara and Gehlot loyalist CL Premi Bairwa from Keshoraipatan. They contested as independents in the 2018 elections.

In a press conference held at the AICC headquarters in Delhi, Pilot emphasised that the collective goal of party leaders was to work together to secure victory in the Assembly polls and mentioned that the decision about who would lead the government would be made by the high command.

In response to Gehlot's recent statement suggesting his return as CM if the Congress wins, Pilot remarked that it was based on Gehlot's decades of experience. He emphasised the importance of unity and collective efforts in winning the elections, with the ultimate decision being acceptable to all MLAs.