Gehlot to pick workers’ brains for candidates on Jodhpur urban seats

JODHPUR GEHLOT WILL REACH JODHPUR ON A THREEDAY VISIT TODAY TO MEET PARTY WORKERS AND HOLD DISCUSSIONS ON CANDIDATES’ NAMES FOR JODHPUR CITY AND SOORSAGAR SEATS

: Former chief minister and the Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot will “consult” party workers before finalising candidates for the two urban assembly constituencies in his home district Jodhpur — Jodhpur City and Soorsagar, state leaders have said. Gehlot represents the third urban constituency, Sardarpura, and is likely to be nominated to contest the December 7 elections once again.

Gehlot will reach Jodhpur on a three-day visit on Tuesday for a meeting with the workers late afternoon, party’s district president (city) Sayeed Ansari said.

“On the first day, the opinion of the workers about the urban seats will be noted. On Wednesday, there will be a discussion on names for candidates for all eight assembly seats in Jodhpur,” he said. Another Congress leader, however, added that the focus while discussing the candidates will be on the urban seats.

Barring Gehlot’s Sardarpura constituency, the Congress has faced stiff challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the other two urban assembly seats of Jodhpur parliamentary constituency. In the last three elections, The Congress has not managed to win Jodhpur City and Soorsagar in any of the last three assembly elections, or since the 1998 polls.

For the upcoming elections, the Congress is looking for a strong candidate for these two seats. Party secretary and state co-incharge Vivek Bansal has reportedly taken workers’ views ahead of Gehlot’s meeting.

The BJP, too, is expected to select fresh candidates this time. In the recently held BJP meeting in Ranakpur, chief minister Vasundhara Raje herself took feedback from the workers regarding the Soorsagar seat (reserved for the Scheduled Castes).

BJP (city) general secretary Mahendra Meghwal said that the saffron party’s position in Jodhpur City and Soorsagar constituencies is “as strong as before”. “The Congress will not have any advantage from the former CM (Gehlot)’s intervention,” he claimed. He said the BJP was strengthening its position in Sardarpura as well. The constituency, represented by Gehlot for three consecutive terms (Congress’s Man Singh Deora held the seat for one term before Gehlot), has a total of 20 wards.

“In the previous elections, the BJP was ahead in 16 of these wards. We are focusing more on the remaining four wards this time,” Meghwal said.