By-elections to the Dholpur Assembly constituency in Rajasthan and the Bhoranj Assembly constituency in Himachal Pradesh will be held on April 9.
According to the Election Commission’s announcement, notification for the by-polls will be issued on March 14 and nominations will be accepted till March 21. Counting of votes will take place on April 13.
While the Dholpur seat fell vacant three months ago following the disqualification of Bahujan Samaj Party MLA B.L. Kushwah upon his conviction in a murder case, by-poll in Bhoranj has been necessitated because of the death of senior Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Ishwar Dass Dhiman.
Matter of prestige
The Dholpur by-election will be a matter of prestige for the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress as its result will be treated as a reflection of people's opinion on the BJP government’s performance during the last three years.
Dholpur happens to be the home turf of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje as she was married to Hemant Singh of the town’s erstwhile ruling family.
Ever since the Assembly seat fell vacant, Ministers holding different portfolios have been visiting the district to review the progress of welfare schemes and organising public hearings to resolve people’s grievances.
Significantly, the BJP has since inducted Mr. Kushwah’s wife Shobharani into the party.
There is speculation that she may be fielded as the party's candidate, even though former legislators Abdul Sagir Khan and Jaswant Singh Gujjar are among the strong contenders for the ticket.
While the BSP may find it difficult to retain the Dholpur seat in the absence of an “acceptable face”, the Congress will be projecting the by-poll as a virtual semi-final for the 2018 Assembly elections. Victory in the by-election will hold out a clear message that the people of the State are unhappy with the BJP and the State government.
The Congress is yet to identify a strong candidate with the right caste credentials. District Congress president Ashok Sharma has emerged as a strong contender as he is the son of former MLA Banwarilal Sharma, who was defeated by Mr. Kushwah with a margin of 9,000 votes in the 2013 Assembly polls.
Mr. Kushwah's membership of the State Assembly was terminated after he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on December 8 last year in a 2012 case of “honour killing”. He was charged with getting a man, whom he suspected to be in a relationship with his sister, murdered through a contract killer.
Ticket for Dhiman’s son?
In Bhoranj, the BJP is likely to field the son of Mr. Dhiman from this reserved constituency and the Congress is still uncertain about its candidate. Mr. Dhiman had represented Bhoranj, which was earlier called Mewa, six times in a row. He was twice the Education Minister of the State in the previous BJP governments of 1998-2003 and 2007-2012.
