The Congress party released its seventh list of candidates for the upcoming Rajasthan assembly polls on Sunday including 21 candidates who will contest the elections scheduled for November 25, 2023. Notably, the party has nominated state minister and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's confidante Shanti Dhariwal to represent the Kota North constituency. However, the list also signals some notable omissions, particularly regarding the denial of a ticket to Dharmendra Rathore, Chairman of the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation, who is also a close associate of CM Gehlot.
Dhariwal and Rathore, along with Mahesh Joshi, were among three senior state leaders who received notices from the party's disciplinary committee for their absence from a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in the state last year. Instead, they held a parallel meeting of MLAs, marking a significant act of dissent within the party.
Dharmendra Rathore had sought a ticket from the Ajmer North constituency but has been replaced by Mahendra Singh Ralawata. Mahesh Joshi, who was also issued a notice by the party's disciplinary committee, had been denied a ticket for the Assembly polls as the Congress has fielded RR Tiwari from Hawa Mahal in his place.
This development comes on the heels of the party's announcement of 22 candidates for the Rajasthan assembly polls on Saturday. It was during this announcement that the Congress decided to field Jaipur city unit president R R Tiwari in place of Mahesh Joshi in the Hawa Mahal constituency.
With these announcements, the Congress has revealed its candidates for 178 out of the total 200 seats in the Rajasthan Assembly, leaving one seat, Bharatpur, for the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).
Ashok Gehlot Loyalists' Rebellion Last Year
The internal conflicts within the Congress party last year stemmed from the absence of Congress MLAs from the Ashok Gehlot camp at a Congress Legislature Party meeting called at the chief minister's residence in Jaipur. Instead, these MLAs held a parallel meeting at Shanti Dhariwal's residence to voice their opposition to any move by the party to appoint Sachin Pilot as the chief minister. At the time, Gehlot was also vying for the position of Congress president.
The last date for the submission of nomination papers is November 6, setting the stage for the finalisation of candidates for the crucial election.
The Rajasthan Assembly elections are scheduled for November 25, with the counting of votes set to take place on December 3, 2023.
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