Rajasthan Assembly polls: Kin up against each other in four seats

Jaipur: In four seats in the coming Rajasthan assembly polls, relatives have been pitted against each other, which includes a husband contesting his wife and nieces up against their uncles.

Polling in all 200 assembly constituencies in the state will be held on November 25 and counting of votes will take place on December 3.

“I am more focused on issues such as women empowerment and drinking water in my campaign,” Rita Chaudhary, who is contesting from Sikar's Danta Ramgarh seat, told PTI on Monday.

She has been fielded by Haryana-based Jannayak Janta Party. Her husband Virendra Chaudhary is the sitting Congress MLA, which has renominated him. Chaudhary is the son of former Congress state chief and seven-time MLA Narayan Singh.

The family has traditionally been with the Congress but it witnessed a political split when Rita Chaudhary joined JJP in August this year, and was made the state president of JJP's women wing.

Her expectations to get a ticket from the Congress party in the 2018 assembly elections were dashed as the party chose her husband Virendra. After that, Rita started strengthening her own political base.

Rita said people in Danta Ramgarh want change. “Since I have been active among the people, I am confident that I will win this seat in the elections,” she said.

In the Dholpur assembly seat, interest in the contest between two members of the same family has been compounded by the fact that both the leaders have switched parties.

Shobharani Kushwah had won the seat in 2018 as a BJP candidate by defeating Congress’s Dr Shivcharan Kushwah. Shobharani, the sister-in-law of Shivcharan, was expelled in June last year by the BJP over cross-voting in Rajya Sabha elections.

This time, Congress has offered its ticket to Shobharani while the BJP has fielded Shivcharan.

“Relationships and political contests are altogether different aspects and they have their own place. Therefore, during an election battle, we are candidates of our political parties and not 'saali' and 'jija',” she said.

Shobharani had won the assembly bypoll in 2017 on a BJP ticket after her husband B L Kushwah, who had won the 2013 assembly election as a BSP candidate, was convicted in a murder case in December 2016.

In Nagaur and Khetri seats, uncles are in the election fray against their nieces.

Former Congress MP Jyoti Mirdha joined the BJP sometime back and was made the party candidate in Nagaur while the Congress has chosen her uncle Harendra Mirdha as its candidate.

Similarly, in the Khetri seat of Jhunjhunu district, Dharampal Gurjar, his brother Dataram Gurjar and Dataram's daughter Manisha Gurjar were in the race for a ticket from the BJP.

After Dharampal Gurjar was picked by the BJP, Manisha rebelled and joined Congress, which gave her the party ticket from the seat.

The November 25 elections have 1875 candidates in the fray – 183 women and 1,692 men.