Lok Sabha elections 2019: Here is all you need to know about Rajasthan
The Lok Sabha elections 2019 will see adirect fight between the Congress and the BJP in Rajasthan
The Lok Sabha elections 2019 come close on the heels of Assembly polls in Rajasthan that saw Congress coming back to power after a five-year stint of the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government.
Stakes are high for major political parties – BJP and Congress – in a state that sends 25 members to the lower house of Parliament.
Read: Who can vote, how to register as voter?
With the elections approaching, both parties have exuded confidence about the outcome. “The coming elections are important and the Congress is not fighting to form government but against the forces that have weakened constitutional institutions,” state deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot said.
Read: Want to vote but don’t know your booth? Here’s how to locate one
BJP, on the other hand, feels the state party leadership and organisation are strong from booth to state level. “The Congress is misguiding people. BJP is committed towards patriotism and nationalism, for us first is nation than organisation,” spokesperson Mukesh Pareek said.
Here’s all you need to know before Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan:
*Polling date: April 29, May 6
*Date of counting: May 23
*Ruling party/coalition in the state: Congress + RLD
*Number of Lok Sabha seats in the state: 25
*Party wise break-up of the Lok Sabha seats: All 25 BJP
*Number of voters in the state: 48,479,229
*Voter turnout in 2014 : 63.11%
*Number of assembly seats: 200
*Partywise break-up of assembly seats: Cong - 100, BJP - 73, Communist Party of India (Marxist) - 2, BSP - 6, Rashtriya *Loktantrik Party - 3, Rashtriya Lok Dal - 1, Bhartiya Tribal Party - 2, Independents - 13
*Key players: Congress: Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot, Harish Meena, Namo Narayan Meena, Manvendra Singh, Harish Choudhary, Mahesh Joshi
BJP: Vasundhara Raje, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Arjun Meghwal, PP Chaudhary
Rashtriya Loktantrik Party: Hanuman Beniwal
*Key issues:
Farm loan waiver: Congress announced this before the 2018 Assembly election and implemented it after coming to power
Modi factor: As in 2014, the biggest factor for the BJP will be the Modi factor. Even though people voted BJP out of Assembly, the party hopes that voters will opt for Modi at the centre.
National security: This will also be a factor as the state has a decent population of serving, retired jawans and their families