Ajmer and Mandalgarh by-polls to be litmus test for BJP and Congress
The results may have an impact on the performance of each side on the upcoming assembly elections in Rajasthan.
Last Updated:
former Rajasthan Congress president Sachin Pilot.
Jaipur: A lot will be at stake for Vasundhara Raje government and BJP’s Rajasthan unit when two constituencies in the state will go to polls in the coming days.
After the untimely deaths of Member of Parliament (MP) Sanwar Lal Jat and MLA Kirti Kumari, by-polls will take place in Ajmer parliamentary constituency and Mandalgarh assembly constituency.
Both BJP and Congress will leave no stone unturned as the by-poll results will likely have a substantial impact on the performance of each side in the upcoming assembly elections.
The Ajmer by-election is likely to be fought under the national limelight. The parliamentary constituency was being represented by Sanwar Lal Jat, a senior Jat community leaders and an influential politician of the area, known for successfully taking on senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot.
Pilot will likely use all his resources to bag this seat for Congress to further strengthen his claim for being appointed the party’s candidate for the top post in next assembly elections.
If Sachin Pilot is fielded by Congress for Ajmer by-polls, the fight will be all the more interesting.
To ride on the sympathy wave generated by the demise of Sanwar Lal Jat, BJP can field someone from his family.
Kirti Kumari had a struggling win in Mandalgarh in 2013 after getting defeated twice by Congress candidates in previous elections. Many believe that Kirti Kumar won due to Narendra Modi wave that swept the entire state.
Many believe that Kirti Kumari won due to the Narendra Modi wave that swept the entire state . Mandalgarh constituency has always been a Congress stronghold. Former chief minister and senior Congress leader Shivcharan Mathur defeated Kirti Kumari, a member of an ex-royal family, in 2003. She was again defeated in 2008 by a small margin. She won by a margin of more than 18000 votes in 2013.
By-polls have been conducted for five seats since 2013. Of them, three were won by Congress, while BJP won in two elections.
Sanwar Lal Jat suffered cardiac arrest and after battling for life for 18 days, he passed away on August 9. He suffered heart attack while the party’s national president Amit Shah was taking a meeting of ministers here on July 22.
BJP MLA from Bhilwara district’s Mandalgarh constituency Kirti Kumari died of swine flu on August 28.
