Rajasthan Assembly Polls 2018: Bikaner MLA seats become a case of rotating chairs for Congress

The Congress’ announcement of its third list of candidates for the Rajasthan assembly polls has witnessed a frenetic round of lobbying, culminating in MLA tickets for Bikaner constituencies being assigned and rolled back.

The Rajasthan Congress has been facing vehement infighting since the party released its first list of candidates. The Grand Old Party nominated Yashpal Gehlot from the Bikaner West seat, instead of BD Kalla, a former minister in the Ashok Gehlot cabinet. This move was castigated by the party members, compelling the Congress to nominate Kalla from Bikaner West in their second list.

As a result, Gehlot was given a ticket from the Bikaner East constituency which led to the sidelining of Kanhaiya Lal Jhanwar.

However, it did not go well with the Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Lal Dudi, who announced that he will not contest elections if Jhanwar is not given a ticket from Bikaner East.

Dudi, who is close to Jhanwar, had earlier convinced him to contest from Bikaner East instead of the Nokha. Agreeing to the offer, Jhanwar had joined the Congress party hours before the second list was announced last week.

Jhanwar used to contest from the Nokha constituency as he enjoyed a strong voter base among the upper castes and the urban residents. It is believed that he gave up his seat for Dudi, who is keen on retaining his seat from the Nokha constituency.

After Dudi’s ultimatum and strong protests from within the party, the Congress, in its third list, announced that Jhanwar will be contesting from Bikaner East. Yashpal Gehlot’s name didn’t find mention in the list altogether.

Dudi is considered to be a tall leader in the Jat community, which forms 15 to 20 percent of Rajasthan’s electorate.

Nokha, in Bikaner district, is a tehsil known for its production of ‘moth' which is a type of pulses. Nokha’s moth market is the biggest in Asia.

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