AAP joins election race in Rajasthan, releases list of 23 candidates

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced its first list of 23 candidates for the upcoming Rajasthan assembly polls through a post on its official X (formerly Twitter)

Harish Raheja will contest from Ganganagar, Dhanna Ram Meghwal from Raisinghnagar (SC), Mahant Roopnath from Bhadra, Rajendra Mavar from Pilani (SC), and Vijendra Dotasara from Nawalgarh, among others.

Rajesh Verma has been fielded from Khandela, Mahender Mandiya from Neem Ka Thana, Ashok Sharma from Srimadhopur and P S Tomar from Amber constituency among others, according to the first list declared by the party.

In 2018, AAP contested its first elections in Rajasthan, fielding 142 candidates out of 200 Assembly seats. However, the state has been dominated by Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with both parties alternating governments since 1993. The 2018 elections were not different, with the BJP securing 73 seats and the Congress winning 99. Congress formed the government with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

The Congress party has also released its third list of 19 candidates, including Shoba Rani Kushwah from Dholpur and Rajendra Prateek from Sikar. Last week, the Congress released its first list, featuring 33 candidates and its second list, featuring another 43 candidates. Congress has now released 95 names of candidates contesting for the 200-seat Assembly.

The BJP unveiled its second list, with former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje contesting from Jhalrapatan and former Rajasthan BJP president Satish Punia from Amber constituency.

Rajasthan Assembly has 200 seats, all of which will go into polls on November 25. Counting votes for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram will be done on December 3. A party requires 101 seats to form the government in Rajasthan.