High-profile candidates face off in six Rajasthan constituencies

Jaipur, March 27 (IANS) At least half a dozen parliamentary constituencies in Rajasthan are the centre of attention as they will see a fight among veteran politicians and high profile candidates.

Political experts are anticipating nail biting electoral battle at some constituencies including Dausa, Jaipur Rural, Ajmer, Kota, Jhalawar and Barmer in the state.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh has refused to withdraw his nomination as an independent candidate from Barmer constituency after the party denied him a ticket from there, and is set to face BJP's Colonel Sonaram and Congress' Harish Chaudhary..

"It has become a fight of prestige for Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and the BJP as the party chose Sonaram over Jaswant Singh. Sonaram who shifted to BJP from Congress and was immediately given a ticket to fight election from Barmer is leaving no stone unturned to ensure his victory," said Ravi Kumar, a keen political watcher.

Congress's Rajasthan unit chief and union Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot is being challenged in Ajmer by senior Jat community leader Sanwarlal Jat who is a minister in the Vasundhara Raje cabinet.

Two brothers are fighting it out in Dausa constituency. While Congress has fielded former bureaucrat and union Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena, his brother and former Indian Police Service officer Harish Chandra Meena is contesting the election on a BJP ticket.

In Jaipur Rural, a sportsman is taking on a veteran politician. Shooter-turned-politician Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (BJP), in his maiden electoral fight, is up against Congress's C.P. Joshi, a party general secretary and former union minister.

Vasundhara Raje's son Dushyat Singh has been fielded from Jhalawar constituency. Challenging him is senior Congress leader Pramod Jain Bhaya who was a cabinet minister in the previous Congress government in the state.

The fight is very close in Kota constituency also where senior BJP leader Om Birla, who is close to the chief minister, is taking on Congress's Ijyaraj Singh, who belongs to Kota's ex-royal family.