The Congress on Thursday appointed five special observers, including former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, for the November 25 Rajasthan Assembly elections.

“The Congress president has approved the proposal for the appointment of Mukul Wasnik, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Jitendra Singh, Shaktisinh Gohil and Shakeel Ahmad Khan as special observers for the ensuing Assembly elections in Rajasthan-2023, with immediate effect,” said a communication from the party.

The Congress is seeking to retain power in the State by bucking the trend of voting out incumbent governments.

The results of the polls to the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly will be declared on December 3.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other BJP leaders at the BJP Central Election Committee meeting on Rajasthan elections, in New Delhi on October 20, 2023.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Protests by disgruntled BJP leaders and their supporters over denial of party ticket for the Rajasthan Assembly polls erupted on October 23 in several districts of the State.

After the party released its second list of candidates last week, dissident leaders and their supporters protested in Rajsamand, Sriganganagar, Udaipur, and Bikaner. Similar protests were witnessed on Sunday too in districts such as Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Kota, Jaipur, Alwar, and Bundi, apart from Rajsamand.

On October 23, local leaders protested against BJP candidate Surendra Singh Rathore from Kumbhalgarh seat in Rajsamand district. Ticket claimants have given an ultimatum to the party’s high command to reconsider its decision and said that they will contest as independent candidates if their demand is not met.

“There is resentment among the party workers. Those who took the decision did not even know the situation on the ground,” former Zila Parishad member Nathulal Gurjar said.

Praveen Mewada, Sardargarh sarpanch of Rajsamand, said that it was better to give a ticket to an outsider.

“But, Surendra Singh should not have been given the ticket. People are not happy with him. We are holding a discussion with workers,” Mewada said.

In Sriganganagar, former BJP candidate Vinita Ahuja indicated that she would contest the elections as an independent candidate after the party gave its ticket to Jaideep Bihani.

Local leaders and supporters of Ahuja held a press conference to declare her as their leader in the upcoming Assembly polls. “The community has decided unanimously to field Vinita Ahuja as an independent candidate,” community leader Virendra Rajpal said in Sriganganagar.

In Udaipur, Deputy Mayor Paras Singhvi, who is demanding a BJP ticket from Udaipur City seat, took out a rally from the Town Hall on Monday. His supporters raised slogans “Tara Manzoor Nahi”, opposing BJP candidate Tarachand Jain.

“I am still with the party and urge the top leaders to reconsider the decision of Udaipur City,” Singhvi said.

In Bikaner East, former chairman of the Urban Development Trust, Mahavir Ranka, has held a meeting with his supporters and registered his protest against BJP candidate Siddhi Kumari.

On October 22, several protests were witnessed in parts of the State. Supporters of BJP dissidents allegedly damaged furniture in the party’s Rajsamand district office and burnt election campaign-related material on the road along with tyres to protest against the candidature of Deepti Maheshwari.

Similar protests were witnessed when the party released its first list of candidates.

There are a total of 200 Assembly seats in Rajasthan, and till now BJP has fielded candidates for a total of 124 seats.

Assembly polls will be held in Rajasthan on November 25, while counting of votes will take place on December 3.

New Delhi:

The Congress on Tuesday claimed there is no anti-incumbency against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan and the party will buck the trend of alternating governments in the desert state. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi made the remarks after chairing a meeting of the party’s screening committee for Rajasthan in the presence of state leaders here.

Mr Gogoi also accused the BJP of fielding its MPs in the state assembly polls out of fear of losing in the 2024 parliamentary polls, claiming there is a lot of anti-incumbency against them.

“There has been a tradition in Rajasthan for many years that the government changes every five years, but this time we have seen very closely that there is no anti-incumbency against the government and the chief minister.

“This time the tradition is going to break and that is why the BJP is scared and has given tickets in the assembly polls to those MPs against whom there is a lot of opposition. There is big anti-incumbency as they know they are not going to win the Lok Sabha polls again,” the Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha said.

Chief Minister Gehlot, who is seeking to repeat his government in the state, also met former party chief Sonia Gandhi as also the party’s treasurer Ajay Maken.

Mr Gehlot, who was here to attend the Congress Working Committee meeting on Monday, left the national capital for Rajasthan in the afternoon.

Rajasthan goes to polls on November 30 for the 200-member state assembly.

Asked about who would be the CM face in Rajasthan, Mr Gogoi said the party would follow the tradition.

On when the party would declare its candidates, he alleged that the BJP knows all the news in advance about when the model code is going to be imposed and when the election schedule is going to be declared, hence their preparations are done accordingly.

“See, how much chemistry there is between the two when the elections are declared, the list is prepared,” he said.

“As far as the Congress party is concerned, we are fully active and fully prepared…we are going to win this election,” Mr Gogoi said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jaipur:

 Bharatiya Janata Party National President JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday night reached in Jaipur to chair a meeting with the core group of Rajasthan BJP to discuss the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

According to party sources, during this visit, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda will hold a meeting of the BJP Rajasthan Core Group to strategize about the elections and gather feedback from state officials. In the meeting, ministers and MPs are expected to discuss about contesting assembly elections.

BJP National President JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah arrived at Jaipur Airport around 7 PM via a special flight. From the airport, both leaders headed directly to the state BJP headquarters, where the meeting of the BJP Core Committee was organized from 8 PM onwards.

During the meeting, both leaders discussed ticket distribution for the upcoming assembly elections and analyzed the political dynamics in the state. Additionally, they also reviewed the feedback received during the recent BJP Parivartan Yatra (BJP Transformation Journey).

“Let us tell you that after a few days, there will be a meeting of the Central Election Committee in Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present in the meeting. The names of C and D category candidates will be discussed, after which BJP will release the list, ” said the sources.

Notably, the meeting takes place after BJP fielded seven Lok Sabha members in Madhya Pradesh, including Union ministers Faggan Singh Kulaste, Prahlad Singh Patel and Narendra Singh Tomar. The BJP also fielded party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.

The 2023 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election is expected to be held in or before December this year. The Congress party holds the majority in the Rajasthan Assembly, which comprises 200 seats, with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot leading the state government.

The previous assembly elections in the state were held in December 2018, when the Indian National Congress emerged as the single-largest party with 100 seats, falling short by 1 seat to secure the majority mark. The Congress, however, formed the state government after an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party with Congress leader Ashok Gehlot becoming the Chief Minister.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jaipur:

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will address a public meeting in Tonk district of Rajasthan on September 10, party leaders said on Friday.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot visited the venue of the meeting on Friday evening and said 300 kitchens would be started simultaneously in the rural areas of the state under the Indira Rasoi Yojana on that day.

Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Swarnim Chaturvedi said Ms Gandhi will address the meeting on the premises of the Vivekananda Model School located in Jhilae village of the district.

The party’s Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, state unit president Govind Singh Dotasra and Ashok Gehlot will also be present on the occasion.

During his visit to the venue at Niwai, Gehlot said, “Having the programme in Niwai matters. Our Indira Rasoi Yojana has become very popular. This subsidy-based scheme has given great relief to the people in this inflation.” According to an official spokesperson, the ‘Indira Rasoi’ scheme is at present running in cities where a meal is being provided for Rs 8. He said the scheme will now be started in villages and Chief Minister Gehlot will start it from Niwai on Sunday.

A police official said on Friday that Priyanka Gandhi reached Ranthambore in Sawai Madhopur district with her family on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, the Congress’ general secretary organization K C Venugopal will hold a meeting in Jaipur on Saturday over the Rajasthan assembly elections due later this year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)