The fate of the candidates in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh has been sealed in EVMs, now everyone is waiting for 3rd December when the votes will be counted here. However, there is still time for voting in Rajasthan and there is political turmoil there. Congress is trying to break the tradition that has been going on for many years in which there is victory once and defeat once. On the other hand, Bharatiya Janata Party is hopeful of regaining power. The special thing is that along with BSP and CPI, independents also have a strong hold here.

Voting is to be held in Rajasthan on 25th November. Before voting, intense rhetoric is going on between Congress and BJP. Every possible effort is being made to woo the voters. Many areas of Rajasthan are considered very important politically. Rajasthan is divided into 5 regions on the basis of electoral circumstances, in which Shekhawati region has its own identity. Come, let us know about the Shekhawati region, and also try to know how the results of this region affect the politics of the state.

21 seats in Shekhawati region

Shekhawati region consists of 3 districts, Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu, in which there are a total of 21 assembly seats. This includes 6 seats in Churu district, 7 seats in Jhunjhunu district and 8 assembly seats in Sikar district. In the assembly elections held here in 2018, Congress got a big victory while BJP’s performance was poor. Congress had captured 15 out of total 21 seats. Whereas BJP could win only 4 seats. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won one seat and an independent candidate won one seat.

If we look district wise, there are 8 assembly seats in Sikar district and BJP could not even open its account here. Congress had won 7 seats. An independent had won one seat. But in the 2013 elections, the situation here was a little different and BJP’s performance was good. Out of 7 seats, 5 seats went to BJP, one seat to Congress and one seat to an independent candidate.

Shock to BJP in Jhunjhunu-Churu also

There are 7 seats in Jhunjhunu district adjacent to Sikar, in which Congress could win 4 seats, BJP could win 2 and BSP could win only one seat. Whereas in 2013, BJP had got more seats from here. In the then elections, BJP had won 3 seats, Congress had won one seat, BSP had won one seat and independent candidates had won on 2 seats. In this way, like Sikar, BJP suffered a setback in Jhunjhunu also in the 2018 elections.

Now if we look at Churu district, Congress had got a big victory here too. Congress had won 4 out of 6 seats in the district, while BJP had to be content with only 2 seats. Now if we look at the 2013 elections, BJP’s performance here was good. BJP had won 4 out of 6 seats. Whereas Congress and BSP had won 1-1 seats.

How were the results in the last 3 elections?

If we look at the results of the last 3 elections in Shekhawati region, the party that wins here gets the power of the state. In 2018, BJP was able to win 4 seats here while Congress won 15 and came to power in the state. Similarly, if we talk about 2013, then BJP had won 12 seats, while Congress was limited to only 4 seats. BJP had formed the government here in 2013.

Now if we look at the 2008 election results, out of 21 seats, Congress had won 11 while BJP was limited to only 6 seats. Congress was successful in forming the government in the state. BSP had then got 2 seats. Like 2008, in 2013 also BSP got only 2-2 seats.

Since the rise of BJP in the state politics, there has been a war going on in this area between Congress and BJP while BSP has been presenting a tough challenge from its side. However, there was a time when Shekhawati region was a stronghold of Congress. After the Emergency, the situation of Congress kept worsening. After Bhairon Singh Shekhawat became the first non-Congress CM in 1977, there was a change in the politics of the area. After the 90s, BJP’s position became stronger.

Which seats are you eyeing?

Shekhawati is a Jat dominated area and is also considered a stronghold of farmers. After the announcement of Jat reservation by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999, the vote bank of the party kept increasing in the state. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar himself comes from Shekhawati region and BJP can also benefit from this in this election. Even before this, BJP had made Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who belonged to the same region, as the Vice President.

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If we look at the popular seats of Shekhawati region, everyone’s eyes are fixed on 3 seats. Along with Churu assembly seat, Laxmangarh and Fatehpur seats of Sikar district are also included. Churu seat is considered to be the stronghold of Leader of Opposition in the House and BJP candidate Rajendra Rathore. He has won from here six consecutive times. In the last contest, he had won in a tough battle by a margin of 1,850 votes. In such a situation, there may be a tough competition here this time.

BSP-CPI will also be monitored

Everyone’s eyes will be on Fatehpur seat because BJP is waiting for its first victory here since 1993. In the 2018 elections, BJP’s Sunita Kumari lost the election by a margin of just 860 votes. This time BJP has fielded coaching director Shravan Choudhary while Congress MLA Hakam Ali is in front of him. In 2013, both Congress and BJP were defeated. Laxmangarh seat is considered to be the stronghold of Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasara. Govind Singh has been winning elections from here for three consecutive times. BJP has fielded Subhash Mahariya against Govind Singh. In the 2013 elections, Govind Singh defeated BJP’s Subhash Mahariya by a margin of 10,723 votes. Once again there is going to be a tough competition between the two.

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If the result of Shekhawati region of Rajasthan is like the last 3 election results, then change of power may be possible here. At present, this time again tough preparations have been made by both the major parties, but a tough challenge can be given by Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India and many other regional parties. In the 2018 elections, independent candidates won on 3 seats. Out of the 6 seats won in Rajasthan, BSP had won one seat in this region. While there was tough competition on many seats, this time it remains to be seen whose game these small parties will spoil between BJP and Congress.