The retention of 14 sitting MPs from Rajasthan, including four Union Ministers, in the BJP's first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections has been perceived here as an indication of the party being confident of victory in the State. The BJP has announced candidates for 16 of the 25 seats in Rajasthan, while the list of Congress candidates is still awaited.
The BJP has dropped its only woman MP, Santosh Ahlawat, elected from the Jhunjhunu constituency, and replaced her with Narendra Khinchar, amid speculations that a section of the party leadership is not in favour of emergence of a strong Jat leadership. Ms. Ahlawat was considered a political heavyweight in the Jat community.
The list includes four Union Ministers — Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (Jaipur Rural), Arjun Ram Meghwal (Bikaner), P.P. Chaudhary (Pali) and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Jodhpur). Veteran Rajput leader in Bikaner Devi Singh Bhati had recently quit the BJP in protest against the decision to give ticket to Mr. Meghwal despite his “anti-party activities”.
The candidature of three-time MP Dushyant Singh, son of former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, from the Jhalawar-Baran seat has put an end to speculations about Ms. Raje contesting from the constituency.
