The BJP released its first list of 41 candidates for the Rajasthan assembly elections. What’s noteworthy about the list is that it includes as many as seven sitting MPs of the partyon it.

The BJP, currently, has just two sitting MLAs, one from Mandawa (the Jhunjhunu district) and another from Jaipur’s Vidhyadhar Nagar assembly constituencies. As against this, the Congress has 39 sitting MLAs representing 29 constituencies. The BTP and the CPM have two sitting MLAs each and the BSP has one while five are Independents.

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While BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kirorilal Meena is fielded from Sawaimadhopur assembly seat, Lok Sabha MP from Alwar Balaknath will contest from Tizara assembly constituency. Party’s Ajmer MP Bhagirath Choudhary will contest from Kishangarh seat while Jhunjhjunu MP Narendra Kumar is going to be fielded from Mandawa seat and Rajsamand MP Diyakumari to contest from Vidhyadhar Nagar in Jaipur city. Jaipur-Rural MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore will contest from Jhotwara in Jaipur and Jalore-Sirohi MP Devji Patel from Sanchore.

A retired IAS officer, Chandramohan Meena got a ticket from the party to contest from the Bassi (Jaipur) constituency.

Subhash Mahariay, the former Congress MP who joined the BJP recently, will contest from the Sikar seat. Gurjar Andolan patriarch, late Col Kirori Singh Bainsla’s son Vijay Bainsla got a ticket to contest from the Deoli-Uniara (the Tonk district) seat.

The Vidhyadhar Nagar seat is currently occupied by sitting BJP MLA Narpat Singh Rajvi, son-in-law of former vice-president late B S Shekhawat, has been given alloted to Diyakumari, Lok Sabha MP from Rajsamand. However, Rajvi has requested the party to field his son or daughter from the very seat.

The BJP fielded its candidate, Shubhkaran Choudhary, from the Udaipurvati constituency, which is presently represented by sacked Congress minister Rajendra Singh Gudha of Red-Diary fame. Gudha, who recently joined Shiv Sena (Shinde group) was expecting a coalition with the BJP on this very seat, but the BJP high command did not consider the proposal.