Kota, situated in Rajasthan, is renowned as a stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) among the state's 25 Lok Sabha constituencies. Currently comprising eight Vidhan Sabha segments, Kota witnessed the BJP's Om Birla emerging victorious in the 2019 elections, succeeding Ijyaraj Singh. Birla secured a substantial win against Congress candidate Ramnarain Meena, with a remarkable margin of 279,677 votes.
In the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, scheduled for the second phase on April 26, Kota will once again cast its votes. Om Birla from the BJP aims to retain his seat, facing competition from Congress' Prahlad Gunjal for the Kota constituency.
Before his tenure as a Member of Parliament, Om Birla had already carved a significant political presence in Rajasthan. He previously served as a Member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, representing the Kota South Assembly constituency from 2003 to 2014.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Birla secured his maiden parliamentary victory from the Kota-Bundi constituency, marking a milestone in his political journey.
Prahlad Gunjal, belonging to the Gujjar community in Rajasthan, brings his own political background to the fray. Formerly a Member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly for Kota North, elected in 2013, Gunjal recently joined the INC on March 21, 2024, gearing up to contest for Kota in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Prior to his association with the Congress, Gunjal was affiliated with the BJP, having represented the Kota South Assembly constituency from 2003 to 2014. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he clinched victory in Rajasthan’s Kota-Bundi constituency.
Kota is renowned as a major center for Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) aspirants nationwide. However, it has also gained notoriety as the "students’ suicide capital of India," witnessing a distressing record of 26 coaching students taking their lives in 2023, the highest ever recorded. As the Lok Sabha elections approach, Birla has pledged to intensify efforts to address this tragic issue.
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