From Sardarpura in West to Sawai Madhopur in East: 10 Rajasthan Seats That Everyone is Talking About

If the Congress is fear-mongering that all freebies will be wiped out if the electorate picks the BJP to rule for the next five years, the BJP is going hammer and tongs with mentions of ‘red diary’ and ‘politics of appeasement’. No side is ready to cede an inch to the other — caste calculation, religious outreach, and appeasing traditions have been employed. To top it all, there are 43 lakh new voters in the state in this assembly election who can influence outcomes in many seats.

News18 takes a deep dive and brings out 10 top assembly seats in the state that are witnessing a closely contested election:

1. SARDARPURA

This assembly seat is better known as Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s constituency and falls under the Jodhpur area of Rajasthan. This is a Congress stronghold where the party hasn’t lost a single assembly election since 1998. The same year, Gehlot was elected from there in a by-election and hasn’t lost since. The last time the BJP tasted victory here was in 1993 when another Gehlot — Rajendra Gehlot — won.

In 2018, Ashok Gehlot received more than 63 per cent votes and defeated BJP’s Sambhu Singh by a margin of more than 45,000 votes. This time, the BJP has fielded Mahendra Singh Rathore against Gehlot. Rathore, a professor at Jodhpur’s Jai Narain Vyas University, is the former chairperson of the Jodhpur Development Authority.

2. JHALRAPATAN

This assembly seat in the southern part of the desert state is another key seat that is represented by former chief minister and BJP’s most formidable leader in Rajasthan — Vasundhara Raje Scindia. Just the way Gehlot has been holding on to Sardarpura since 1998, Raje has been winning from this seat since 2003. The last time the Congress won Jhalrapatan was in 1998.

In the last elections, Raje, the then sitting chief minister, defeated Congress’s Manvendra Singh with a margin of more than 35,000 votes. She secured 54 per cent of the votes polled. She is a local favourite and regardless of who comes to power, her chance of winning from this seat remains very high.

3. TONK

Situated 100 kilometres away from capital Jaipur, the Tonk assembly seat is the turf of former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot. Regardless of his political fallout with Ashok Gehlot in 2020, Pilot is perceived as the ‘son of the soil’ here in Tonk. However, unlike Gehlot or Raje, he has only been representing this seat since 2018.

In 2018, BJP fielded a minority candidate — Yunus Khan — who was defeated by Pilot with a massive margin of more than 50,000 votes. This time around, the BJP has fielded former MLA Ajit Singh Mehta. He had won the 2013 assembly election in Tonk, defeating Congress rebel Saud Saidi — now considered a Pilot loyalist.

This time, to woo Gujjars, BJP has stationed its controversial Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri in the state for over a month.

4. VIDHYADHAR NAGAR

This seat shot to fame overnight since BJP MP Diya Kumari was fielded from the constituency. She is speculated to be the ‘new face’ of Rajasthan BJP and in the race to become the next chief minister, should the BJP win.

This assembly constituency falls under the Jaipur area, which also happens to be the home turf of Kumari. She was a princess of the Jaipur royal family. BJP has been winning the seat since 2008. Narpat Singh Rajvi — a relative of BJP’s Bhairon Singh Shekhawat whose name still commands respect in the state — won this seat three terms but has been unceremoniously removed the time. Instead, he is being fielded from Chittorgarh. Many Rajvi loyalists continue to be unhappy with the decision which may affect the electoral outcome for Kumari.

5. LAKSHMAN GARH

Around 150 kilometres from Jaipur, tucked in Sikar district, Lakshman Garh is the home turf of Congress’s Rajasthan president and the most talked -bout political personality of Rajasthan right now — Govind Singh Dotasra. He is accused by the opposition, particularly the BJP, of the alleged exam paper leak ‘scam’. The Enforcement Directorate has already raided addresses linked to him and summoned his two sons.

Dotasra, a former education minister in the Gehlot government, has been winning from here since 2008. The last time the BJP won was in 2003 when Keshar Deo emerged victorious. But even before then, Congress won the seat for three more terms — from 1990 to 1998 elections.

In spite of the paper leak being a serious issue, News18, during their ground report from Lakshman Garh, found that Dotasra continues to remain a popular figure. The BJP has fielded Subhash Maharia from here.

6. SAWAI MADHOPUR

Close to Jaipur, this seat is now being given to BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP and the party’s anti-corruption face in the state, Kirodi Lal Meena.

Since 1998, Sawai Madhopur has elected Congress and BJP legislators interchangeably. Meena won the seat in 2003. BJP’s Vidhyadhar Nagar candidate Diya Kumari won from here in 2013. Last time, Congress’s Danish Abrar won the seat, defeating the BJP candidate with a margin of more than 25,000 votes. The BJP candidate in 2018 was from the Meena community. This time, Kirodi Lal Meena is considered to be the tallest leader of the Meena community.

7. NATHDWARA

This seat is going to witness the clash of titans with a strange departure from an acrimonious tussle.

On one hand, there is Congress’s old warhorse CP Joshi — also the sitting MLA — who enjoys goodwill on the ground. On the other hand, there is BJP’s Vishwaraj Singh Mewar — a descendant of Maharana Pratap. This is after 30 years that someone from Maharana Pratap’s family has joined politics. During an interview, Vishwaraj Singh Mewar told News18 that he is winning the seat.

Nathdwara is part of the Mewar region. BJP, by fielding Vishwaraj Singh Mewar, has tried to reach out to the Rajputs in the region who went against the BJP in 2018 due to the Padmavat movie row.

8. JHOTWARA

On the outskirts of Jaipur, this seat has shot to prominence ever since sitting BJP MP from Jaipur rural Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has been asked to fight from here. Though Rathore has tried to sound optimistic by calling it a “huge opportunity”, he has already faced protests after hopes of BJP ticket aspirants were dashed. The BJP is trying to douse the fire and stop its votes from getting divided.

Last time, the Congress won the seat when Lalchand Kataria defeated BJP’s Rajpal Singh Shekhawat. Shekhawat had won from the seat in 2008 and 2013. Both Rajpal Singh Shekhawat and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore are Rajputs.

9. CHITTORGARH

Chittorgarh — known as the land of Queen Padmavati — is witnessing Rajput ire again. Here, the BJP has dropped its two-term MLA Chandrabhan Singh to accommodate Narpat Singh Rajvi who was removed from Vidhyadhar Nagar and was hence sulking.

In a unique turn of events, Chandrabhan Singh has chosen to fight as an Independent. Meanwhile, News18 has found that Rajputs — the key community here — promised to side with him, ditching Narpat Singh Rajvi, regardless of his lineage that has roots with the Bhairon family.

Last time, Chandrabhan Singh received 53.41 per cent of the votes polled while fighting on a BJP ticket.

10. HAWA MAHAL

Bang in the heart of Jaipur city, Hawa Mahal is an important seat by virtue of its location. The seat named after the famous Hawa Mahal of Jaipur — the tallest building in the world built without a foundation — will see a direct fight between the Congress and the BJP.

The Grand Old Party has denied a ticket to Public Health Engineering Department Minister Mahesh Joshi from here and has instead fielded RR Tiwari. The BJP, which has fielded a saffron-clad Peethadhishwar Swami Balmukund Acharya as its candidate from here, is hoping to take advantage of Congress’s situation.

In 2013, BJP won the seat when Surendra Pareek was fielded.