Will the last-minute strategy change cost the INC in Jaipur?

Overview of the Jaipur Lok Sabha Constituency

Jaipur, one of the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in the Indian state of Rajasthan encompasses the city of Jaipur and parts of Sanganer tehsil. Jaipur Lok Sabha constituency comprises eight Vidhan Sabha segments. 

The Jaipur Lok Sabha constituency has been represented in the parliament by BJP leader Ramcharan Bohra since 2014. He was elected in 2014 after defeating Mahesh Joshi of the INC, his nearest rival by a margin of approximately 539,000 votes, which was the largest margin victory in the state of Rajasthan. 

In 2019, Bohra defeated his nearest rival, Jyoti Khandelwal of the Congress party by a margin of 430,626 votes. 

Strength Evaluation 

Jaipur Lok Sabha Constituency has maintained allegiance with the BJP since 1989 except for 2009 when Mahesh Joshi from INC was elected from the seat. 

Talking about state assembly seats, as per the last 2023 assembly election, BJP has 6 MLAs and INC has 2 MLAs from Jaipur parliament constituency.

Vote Percentage Breakup for Jaipur Constituency  ( 2009, 2014, 2019 )

2009 winner Mahesh Joshi representing the INC saw the party’s vote percentage almost halfen from 48.89% to 24.94% in the subsequent 2014 general election, thereby making space for the BJP’s Ramcharan Bohra. BJP’s vote share increased by almost 20% in the same period. 

However, INC fielding Jyoti Khandelwal in the 2019 elections did see its vote share increase by almost 10% but still much less than the BJP. 

Religious Demography 

Nagpur Constituency is home to 88.5% Hindus and 9.1% Muslims. The strength of the Hindu population outlines the popularity of the BJP in the constituency. Other than Hindus and Muslims, the next biggest population in the constituency is Sikhs comprising a meager 1.3%. 

Jaipur Fight: 2024 General Election 

The BJP has decided to field a relatively new face – Manju Sharma who is the former state general secretary, Mahila Morcha. If won, she could be the second woman MP from Jaipur after Rajmata Gayatri Devi from the Jaipur royal family who fought under the Swatantra Party and won. 

However, Congress in a yet-expected turn of events dropped their earlier announced candidate  Sunil Sharma over his association with The Jaipur Dialogues, a right-wing organization ridiculing Congress and its leaders. 

The INC in its new list has announced former cabinet minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas from the Jaipur Lok Sabha seat. Khachariyawas was the MLA from the Civil Lines in Jaipur district from 2008 – 2023 but lost to BJP’s Gopal Sharma in the 2023 assembly elections. 

It looks like the INC had to compromise due to Sunil Sharma’s anti-party activities. However, they could still use Khachariyawas experience against Manju Sharma in the upcoming polls.