Campaigning ends in for 13 Rajasthan seats; Manvendra Singh, Gehlot's son in fray

Campaigning ended Saturday evening for the 13 Rajasthan seats which go to the polls in the fourth phase with chief minister's son Vaibhav Gehlot, former BJP MLA and now Congressman Manvendra Singh and two Union ministers in the fray.

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot's son is contesting his maiden election against Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat from Jodhpur, where polling will be held on Monday.

Former Union minister Jaswant Singh's son Manvendra Singh, who switched over from the BJP to the Congress, is from Barmer, a seat once also held by his father.

Polling will take place in Tonk-Sawaimadhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Kota and Jhalawar-Baran.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and Congress president Rahul Gandhi covered several key fourth-phase constituencies in the state where all 25 Lok Sabha seats went to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2014 elections.

But after last year's Assembly polls, the Congress appeared to make a comeback, forming the government in the state with a narrow majority.

Modi recently held rallies in Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Jodhpur and Barmer. Amit Shah held a meeting in Jalore and a roadshow in Jodhpur.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed public meetings in Dungarpur, Jalore, Jodhpur, Ajmer, and Kota over the past fortnight.

About 2.57 crore people are eligible to vote at 28, 182 polling stations in the 13 constituencies, where 153 candidates are in the fray.

The remaining 12 constituencies of Sriganganagar, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhuju, and Sikar, Jaipur rural, Jaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur, Dausa and Nagaur will go to polls on May 6.

Union minister P P Chaudhary is contesting as the BJP candidate in Pali.

In Rajsamand, the BJP has fielded erstwhile royal family member and former MLA Diya Kumari against Devkinandan Gurjar of Congress.

The contest in Tonk-Sawaimadhopur is between former Union minister and Congress candidate Namonarain Meena and BJP's sitting MP Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria.

Ajmer seat is witnessing a fight between an industrialist and Congress candidate Riju Jhunjhunwala and BJP's Bhagirath Chaudhary.

This seat was won in 2009 by Sachin Pilot, who is now the state Congress chief and Rajasthan's deputy chief minister.