Vasundhara Raje, Satish Punia In Fray As BJP Keeps Electorates Guessing With 2nd List For Rajasthan Polls

The party declared 83 candidates in the second list which has some prominent names including former Rajasthan BJP president Satish Punia, who has been fielded from Amber constituency.

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday released its second list of candidates for the Rajasthan Assembly and leveled up the guessing game for the party's CM face for voters as it named former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and former state party president Satish Punia in the list. The BJP fielded former CM Raje from Jhalrapatan while Punia is set to contest the Rajasthan Assembly elections from Amber constituency.

With no CM face being projected, the BJP has fielded former state president Punia from the Amber seat. There have been speculations over the CM candidate if the BJP wins the polls and among the contenders are Vasundhara Raje, Satish Punia, current state president CP Joshi and some even considering MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore as well.

Rajendra Rathore, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, has announced his candidacy for the upcoming elections in the Taranagar constituency. Jyoti Mirdha, a former Member of Parliament who recently switched to the BJP after leaving the Congress, has been nominated to run in the Nagaur constituency. Notably, Jhalrapatan remains the traditional stronghold of Vasundhara Raje.

BJP releases second list of candidates for Rajasthan Assembly elections

Former CM Vasundhara Raje to contest from Jhalarpatan, Satish Punia fielded from Amber; Rajendra Rathod to contest from Taranagar; Jyoti Mirdha from Nagaur pic.twitter.com/FMzjrujZ4d — ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2023

On October 9, the BJP unveiled its initial list of 41 candidates for the Rajasthan assembly elections, which are scheduled for November 25. Rajyavardhan Rathore, a former Union Minister and MP, is set to contest from Jhotwara, while Diya Kumari, another MP, has been designated as the candidate for Vidhyadhar Nagar. Baba Balaknath will represent the party in the Tijara constituency, and Kirodi Lal Meena is the BJP's candidate for Sawai Madhopur.

The BJP aims to unseat the Congress and assume power in Rajasthan. In the 2018 elections, the Congress secured 99 seats in the 200-member state assembly, while the BJP won 73 seats. The vote count is scheduled for December 3, coinciding with elections in four other states taking place next month.