Bikaner, known across the world for the famed Bikaneri Bhujia, will be among the 12 Lok Sabha constituencies in Rajasthan that will go to polls on April 19. The other constituencies in Rajasthan that will vote on April 19 are Jaipur, Jaipur Rural, Ganganagar, Churu, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Alwar, Karauli – Dholpur, Dausa, Bharatpur, and Nagaur. The seat will see a rerun of the battle between Congress's Govind Ram Meghwal and incumbent MP Arjun Ram Meghwal in an electoral battle after 15 years. The Lok Sabha election results for all the 25 Rajasthan constituencies will be declared on June 4 along with those in other states and Union Territories.
Bikaner — A Saffron Bastion
Bikaner has remained a BJP bastion since 2004 when actor Dharmendra won the seat. Dharmendra's wife Hema Malini is a BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh's Mathura. Dharmendra's stint on the seat ended in 2009. He was succeeded by Arjun Ram Meghwal, who went on to become a minister in the Narendra Modi Cabinet.
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Bikaner's War For Dominance
The seat was reserved for SC community candidates after the 2008 delimitation exercise. The 2009 election on the seat was fought for by Arjun Ram and Govind Ram for the first time. Arjun Ram Meghwal won the seat on a BJP ticket, while Govind Ram Meghwal, a former minister in the Ashok Gehlot Cabinet, lost by over 2 lakh votes on a BSP ticket. Govind Ram, who switched to the BSP from Congress, was seemingly upset after the latter did not give him a ticket to the polls. He moved back to the Congress.
In 2014, Congress unsuccessfully fielded former Ganga Nagar MP Shankar Pannu. In 2019, Arjun Ram thrashed his cousin Madan Gopal Meghwal, who fought on a Congress ticket, by a massive margin of 2.6 lakh votes.
Past Winners Of Bikaner Seat
The BJP before its 2004 win, had secured the Bikaner seat only once in 1996. Before Dharmendra, the seat was held by the Congress's Rameshwar Lal Dudi (1999-2004) and Balram Jakhar (1998-99). Jakhar was the former Speaker of Lok Sabha, a position he held after his very first Lok Sabha election win from Punjab's Ferozepur in 1980.
The seat was held for the longest time by the last Maharaja of Bikaner — Karni Singh. He held the seat for 25 years between 1952 and 1977.
The seat has been won by the CPI-M only once when Sopat Singh Makkasar secured it in 1989.
The Bikaner constituency had 18.5 lakh voters in 2019, of whom 11 lakh turned out to vote. The Bikaner Lok Sabha constituency comprises eight assembly segments — Khajuwala, Bikaner West, Bikaner East, Kolayat, Lunkaransar, Dungargarh, and Nokha in the Bikaner district and Anupgarh in the Ganganagar district.
The Bikaner district had a total population of 23.6 lakh, of which 88% were Hindus and 10% were Muslims, according to the 2011 census. The literacy in the district was around 65%.
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