BJP fields Jaipur princess from Rajsamand LS seat

Putting all speculation to rest, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday announced the candidature of Diya Kumari, a member of the erstwhile royal family of Jaipur, from the Rajsamand parliamentary seat.

The BJP also announced candidature of Kailash Chaudhary from Barmer, Manoj Rajauriya from Karuali-Dholpur and Ranjeeta Kohli from Bharatpur.

Talk of Diya Kumari being fielded in the Lok Sabha elections was rife since Assembly elections in 2018 when she was not given a ticket. It was expected that she would be making her debut on the national stage in the 2019 general elections.

Sources said fielding of Kumari was part of the BJP aim to woo the influential Rajput community of Rajasthan.

"It (Kumari's nomination) has come as the BJP's last-ditch attempt to strengthen ties with the Rajput community, which is miffed with the party due to annoyance with former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje over several issues, including denial of candidature to former Union Minister Jaswant Singh in 2014," said a party worker. Kumari could help repair the fractured relations of the BJP with the Rajputs, he added.

However, strong protests surfaced in Rajsamand (Mewar region) when Kumari's name appeared on top from the constituency. They termed her as an outsider and demanded a local candidate.

Voting in Rajsamand will take place on April 29.

--IANS

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