It is said that the path to power in Rajasthan passes through Mewar and Vagad. BJP has managed to secure several seats in Mewar and Vagad. This time, the hot seat of Mewar, Udaipur city, seems to be slipping out of BJP’s hands. However, Congress also faces challenges in this seat. But this time, Udaipur City presents a significant opportunity for Congress. The reason is that Gulab Chand Kataria, who has been a legislator from the Udaipur city assembly constituency for a long time, has become the governor of Assam, and this seat is now vacant.
Congress had not been able to win this seat. Now, after Kataria became the governor, there is growing anticipation in Congress that they may get a lifeline from this seat. However, the election results will reveal how these turn of events can benefit Congress. BJP has already started ground-level work to establish its dominance in the Udaipur city seat. A candidate from the Brahmin community or the Jain community might be asked to contest elections here.
Heavy factionalism within BJP
The Udaipur city seat seems to be witnessing heavy factionalism within the BJP. People are speculating about which candidate the party will choose for the Udaipur city assembly seat, which has been Kataria’s political stronghold in the last four assembly elections. Local contenders include Ravindra Shrimalli, Paras Singhvi, Rajni Dangi, and Pramod Samar. In addition, a new name, Dharmnarayan Joshi, who is an MLA from Mavli, has also joined the fray for this seat recently. Joshi wanted to contest from Mavli until a few days ago but has now expressed interest in shifting to Udaipur city due to more opposition in Mavli. He is considered close to Om Mathur. However, Joshi also faces a good amount of backlash in Udaipur.
Hurdles after Kataria became the governor
In fact, after Kataria became the governor, there seems to be a constant race to become the leader from this seat. People like Pramod Samar and Paras Singhvi, who are close to Kataria, are striving to become power centres here. They are actively involved in political decisions and aim to become influential, similar to Kataria. On the other hand, Atul Chandalia, Kataria’s daughter’s brother-in-law, is also trying to advance his political career as a part of the family. Among all these names, the clean image, popularity, and acceptability among grassroots workers make Ravindra Shrimalli the strongest contender.
Demand to nominate state president CP Joshi
Two factions have emerged within the BJP in Udaipur city. One of them wants to field state president CP Joshi from here. They have also conveyed their request to the central leadership. The discussions on this seat, which has around 2,48,000 voters, are in full swing. According to sources, currently, CP Joshi is focused on leading the BJP to victory across the state rather than contesting in the upcoming assembly elections. Apart from this, discussions are also happening about the name of Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, a member of the former royal family of Mewar.
Gaurav Vallabh’s name surfaces in Congress
It is worth noting that in the past few elections, Congress fielded Girija Vyas against Kataria in Udaipur.
