Stage set for final Showdown in Rajasthan: Key battles to watch out for in Phase 2

The stage is set for polling on the 13 remaining Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan. Polling in the second phase -- the final one for Rajasthan -- will be held on Friday. In the first phase on April 19, 12 seats had gone to polls. For another 13 seats, campaigning ended on Wednesday evening. In this phase, 152 candidates, including two Union ministers, the BJP state president, and a former Assembly Speaker, are in the fray.

Among the seats where intense fight is expected are Banswara, Barmer-Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Jalore, Chittorgarh, and Kota-Bundi. The other constituencies going to polls are Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Udaipur, Rajsamand, Kota, and Jhalawar-Baran.  

On the last day of campaigning, Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut held a roadshow in Jaisalmer in support of BJP candidate Kailash Chaudhary. Located along the India-Pakistan border, Barmer-Jaisalmer is the largest Lok Sabha constituency of Rajasthan. It is witnessing a triangular contest among Independent candidate Ravindra Singh Bhati, the Congress' Ummedaram, and the BJP's Kailash Chaudhary. Bhati, 26, is an Independent MLA from the Sheo constituency of Barmer district. 

Former chief minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Jalore. Ashok Gehlot focused most of his campaigning on this seat and is likely to make it a tough contest for the BJP's Lumbaram, a grassroots-level leader. Vaibhav lost his first Lok Sabha election in 2019 to the BJP's Gajendra Singh Shekhawat from Jodhpur. 

After Barmer-Jaisalmer, all eyes are on Jodhpur, where BJP candidate Shekhawat is facing a neck-and-neck fight with the Congress' Karan Singh Uchiarda. Shekhawat has won the seat twice - in 2014 and 2019. 

BJP national vice-president and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje campaigned in the Jhalawar-Baran Lok Sabha seat, from where her son and sitting MP Dushyant Singh is contesting against Congress candidate Urmila Jain, a Zila Pramukh and wife of former minister Pramod Jain Bhaya. 

In Kota-Bundi, sitting MP and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is facing a stiff challenge from the Congress candidate Prahlad Gunjal. 

The tribal-dominated Banswara seat is witnessing an interesting contest as the Congress pledged its support to Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) candidate Rajkumar Roat, days after its own candidate entered the fray. The Congress' Arvind Damor did not withdraw his nomination and said he would contest the election with "full strength". 

The Congress decided to support the BAP because its veteran tribal leader Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya joined the BJP in February and was given a ticket.
 
Former Rajasthan Assembly speaker C P Joshi is contesting from Bhilwara as the Congress candidate against the BJP's Damodar Agarwal. BJP state president Chandra Prakash Joshi is contesting from Chittorgarh for the third time. Former minister Udailal Anjana is the Congress candidate for this seat. 

The BJP won all the Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and in 2019. 

Voting will be held on April 26 from 7 am to 6 pm. 

(With inputs from PTI)