Jaipur: The Barmer-Jaisalmer seat in Rajasthan is being discussed in political corridors due to a tough triangular contest being witnessed here between the BJP-Congress and an Independent candidate, for the Lok Sabha election.
Overall, there are 11 candidates in the fray including Kailash Choudhary from the BJP, Ummeda Ram Beniwal from the Congress and Independent candidate Ravindra Singh Bhati.
Pointing at a similar triangular contest in 2014, veteran BJP leader Narayan Panchariya told IANS, “We are confident of repeating the story of 2014 yet again when there was a tough and triangular contest between Harish Chaudhary from the Congress, Colonel Sonaram Choudhary from the BJP and Independent candidate Jaswant Singh.
“Jaswant Singh was a strong figure at that time and the BJP had no strong schemes on the ground to count upon as it does today. The party won in those conditions too. Now, this time it is different.
“There are many policies of the Modi government which have been implemented on the ground and people see him as a world leader. So we will emerge as the winner on this seat.”
It is worth noting that similar to 2014, this time also, there is a BJP government in the state.
Meanwhile, exuding faith in Beniwal, Congress General Secretary and Spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi said, “We have fielded Ummeda Ram Beniwal, who is a strong face in the Barmer belt. He lost Assembly polls to Congress candidate Harish Chaudhary while contesting from the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP). Now he is a member of the Congress and his switch to the Congress from the RLP will bring in more votes, making him the winner.”
Further, the Independent candidate Ravindra Bhati, who is a MLA from the Sheo constituency, is equally confident of his win and has been addressing huge gatherings.
This 26-year-old has been promising employment generation and quality education in Barmer.
Meanwhile, many star campaigners from the BJP and Congress will be wooing the electorate in the districts of Barmer, Balotra, and Jaisalmer for the forthcoming elections.
According to BJP officials, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the ‘Vijay Shankhnad’ rally on April 12 at Adarsh Stadium in Barmer at 11:40 am.
There are 226,237 voters in 8 Assembly constituencies of Barmer Lok Sabha seat and 20 candidates had filed 30 nominations.
The nomination of one candidate was rejected. Of the remaining 19 candidates, 8 have withdrawn their names, leaving 11 candidates in the fray on this seat.
The final list of candidates contesting for the Barmer seat was released on Monday. These include Ummeda Ram Beniwal (Congress), Kailash Choudhary (BJP), Leela Ram (BSP), Prabhuram Goyal (Aazad Samaj Party) and Independents including Ravindra Singh Bhati, Tararam Mehna, Devi Lal Jain, among others.
–IANS