JAIPUR: The Congress on Sunday released its second list of 43 candidates for the assembly elections in Rajasthan. The party has so far announced 76 candidates for the polls. To avoid controversy, the party has repeated most of the faces and has tried to cater to all sections.
The polls to the 200-member assembly will be held on November 25 and the results will be declared on December 3. The Congress seeks to retain power on the strength of its work over the past five years and welfare schemes announced by the Gehlot government.
In this list, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has been successful in getting tickets for most of his supporters.
Former chief secretary Niranjan Arya has been fielded from the Sojat (SC) seat. He is considered close to Gehlot.
A couple of Sachin Pilot supporters have also been given tickets in this list like Brijendra Ola and Suresh Modi.
So far, a total of four Muslims have their names on both lists of the party.
Three women ministers -- Shakuntala Rawat, Naseem Akhtar Insaf and Sushila Dudi -- are also in the list.
From the Nokha seat, the party has given the ticket to Sushila Dudi, the wife of former leader of the opposition Rameshwar Dudi who is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Gurugram.
Naseem Akhtar Insaf has been given a ticket from the religiously significant Pushkar, although he had been unsuccessful in the 2018 elections.
Pushkar Lal Dangi, Raghuveer Singh, and Nanalal who had unsuccessfully contested the 2018 elections, too, have been given tickets.
Five independent candidates who stood with the Congress government when Sachin Pilot rebelled in 2020 have also been given tickets --- Laxman Meena, Babulal Nagar, Khushveer Singh, Sanyam Lodha and Omprakash Hudla -- have been fielded in the election. Gehlot was continuously advocating for their candidacy and was successful in his efforts.
Dungar Ram Gaidar, who had contested the last elections on a BSP ticket but saved the government in 2020, has also been given a ticket.
The second list includes most ministers in the Gehlot government like Education Minister BD Kalla from Bikaner West, Mining Minister Pramod Jain Bhaya from Anta, Food and Supply Minister Pratapsingh Khachariyawas from Civil Lines, Rafiq Khan from Adarsh Nagar, Amin Kagzi from Kishanpol, Udaylal Anjana from Nimbahera, Raghu Sharma from Kekri, Naseem Akhtar Insaf from Pushkar, and Ramlal Jat from Mandal.
The Congress had released the first list of 33 candidates a day earlier. In this list, all senior leaders of the state including Gehlot, State President Govind Singh Dotasara, former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and Assembly Speaker CP Joshi been named.
However, UDH Minister Shanti Dhariwal and PHED Minister Mahesh Joshi, who were responsible for the 2022 rebellion, failed to get tickets. Going against the party's whip, Dhariwal and Joshi, along with minister Pratap Singh Kharchariyawas, had held a meeting at Dhariwal's residence with MLAs supporting Gehlot as chief minister.
Other ministers in the second list are:
(With additional inputs from PTI)