Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh gear up for Phase-II, fate of top guns to be sealed

Tribune News Service

Neeraj Mohan

New Delhi, April 21

After the first phase of voting, all eyes are now on Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh as both states gear up for the second phase of elections. The remaining 13 seats in Rajasthan and eight in western Uttar Pradesh will go to the polls on April 26.

The constituencies that will go to the polls in Rajasthan in this phase are: Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Kota and Jhalawar-Baran.

Political landscape charged up

• 13 seats in Rajasthan and eight in western UP go to the polls on April 26
• The political landscape is charged up in Rajasthan, where certain sections of the Rajput community are protesting against Union Minister Parshottam Rupala’s remarks

The political landscape is charged up in Rajasthan, where certain sections of the Rajput community are protesting against Union Minister Parshottam Rupala’s remarks. The BJP faces a tough fight from Congress candidates with both parties engaging in straight contests for most seats.

Key leaders in Rajasthan are bracing for tough battles. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, seeking a third consecutive term from Kota, is engaged in a fierce competition with Congress’ Prahlad Gunjal.

The Barmer Lok Sabha constituency is witnessing a triangular contest, with Independent candidate Ravinder Singh Bhati giving a stiff competition to BJP’s sitting MP Kailash Chaudhary and Congress’ Umedha Ram Beniwal, who recently switched from the Rastriya Loktantrik Party to join the Congress.

Another battleground is the Banswara (Reserved) constituency, where the Congress has thrown its weight behind Rajkumar Roat of the Bhartiya Adivasi Party against BJP’s Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya.

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, vying for the third consecutive term, faces a formidable challenge in Jodhpur as Congress has fielded Sachin Pilot loyalist and Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Karan Singh Uchiyarda against him. Uchiyarda’s philanthropic activities during the pandemic, including setting up a massive kitchen to provide food, have bolstered his image.

In Chittorgarh, a Rajput-dominated seat, the Congress has placed its bet on former state minister Udailal Anjana, promising an intense contest.

Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh, eight constituencies, including Amroha, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Aligarh, Mathura, and Bulandshahr, are slated for polling during the second phase.

For the Amroha Lok Sabha seat, BJP’s sitting MP Kanwar Singh Tanwar is locked in a fierce battle against Kunwar Danish Ali, a former BSP MP who recently joined the Congress. The Meerut Lok Sabha constituency witnesses a triangular contest with Ramayan actor Arun Govil representing the BJP against BSP’s Devvrat Kumar Tyagi and SP’s Sunita Verma.

The Mathura parliamentary constituency sees Hema Malini, BJP candidate for the third consecutive term, facing off against Congress’ Mukesh Dhangar and BSP’s Suresh Singh, intensifying the triangular contest.

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