Congress fields Manvendra vs Raje in Rajasthan

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 17

The Congress today spiced up the December 7 Rajasthan Assembly elections by fielding Manvendra Singh, the son of estranged BJP stalwart and former minister Jaswant Singh, against Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

Manvendra Singh, 54, will contest from Jhalrapatan in Jhalawar, currently represented by Raje.

Singh, who joined the Congress on October 17 on Durga Ashtami, said the contest would be for Rajput pride more than anything else. For the sitting MLA from Sheo, the elections will be crucial in terms of reviving his father’s fading political legacy.

Jaswant Singh, ailing for long now, was denied the BJP ticket from Barmer parliamentary constituency in 2014. He contested as an Independent and lost to BJP’s Col Sona Ram Choudhary, whom Raje backed.

While joining the Congress, Manvendra Singh spoke of an “arrogant BJP” that heaped “insults” on his father as his reason to quit the saffron fold.

He said he was moving on for some private and public causes. Manvendra Singh, a former LS MP, will have a lot riding on him in the ensuing election, considering Raje enjoys a considerable clout in the state.

Jaswant Singh’s 2014 LS rival in the BJP and sitting MP from Barmer, Sona Ram Choudhary, has been fielded this time by the BJP from Barmer, which has remained a Congress stronghold. The Congress has now announced 186 candidates for the 200-member Assembly, having fielded all veterans, including ex-CM Ashok Gehlot, ex-Union minister CP Joshi, former MP Gurja Vyas and Rajasthan Congress president Sachin Pilot.