Rajasthan Assembly polls: Congress releases fifth list of five candidates

The Congress has released its fifth list of five candidates, including two sitting MLAs, for the Rajasthan Assembly elections.

The names for the remaining 44 seats are likely to be announced soon. The last date for filing nominations is November 6.

In the fifth list announced late on Thursday night, the party has renominated Rooparam Meghwal in Jaisalmer, while Saleh Mohammed has been fielded again from Pokaran.

The party has also fielded three candidates in BJP-held seats – Vidhyadhar Choudhary in Phulera, Hangami Lal Mewara in Asind, and Dhiraj Gurjar in Jahapur.

With this, Congress has announced names for 156 of the 200 seats, retaining 101 sitting MLAs while dropping ten so far. Twenty-one of the candidates are women.

None of the three Gehlot loyalists accused of leading the rebellion in September last year and not allowing a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party – Shanti Dhariwal, Mahesh Joshi, and Dharmendra Rathore – find a place in the third list either. There were reports that Dhariwal is seeking a ticket for his son.

The party's first list had 33 candidates, the second list had 43, the third had 19, and the fourth one had 56.