Rameshwar Dadhich, a close aide of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, has withdrawn his nomination as an independent candidate for the upcoming state Assembly polls and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Dadhich, who is also a former mayor of Jodhpur, made the decision on Thursday. Another Congress member, Vinod Sharma, who previously served as the district president of Dausa, also joined the BJP on the same day. In addition, Rajpal Singh Shekhawat, a former minister who had filed his nomination against BJP’s Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, withdrew his papers after discussions with the party high-command in Jaipur.
Dadhich explained his decision to join the BJP, citing his admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his effective decision-making. He specifically praised Modi’s role in the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, stating that it would not have been possible without him. Dadhich officially joined the BJP in the presence of Pralhad Joshi, the Union minister and the party’s Rajasthan election in-charge, as well as Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and MP Rajendra Gehlot.
According to Mr. Shekhawat, the influx of Congress and other party members into the BJP is a result of their dissatisfaction with the policies and false promises of their respective parties. He confidently stated that the time has come for the Congress government to be ousted from the desert state.
While Dadhich, Sharma, and Shekhawat have withdrawn their nominations, other rebel BJP members, such as Chandrabhan Singh Akya from Chittorgarh, Yoonus Khan from Deedwana, Ravindra Bhati from Sheo, Banshidhar Bajiya from Khandela, Bhawani Singh Shekhawat from Kota’s Ladpura, Kailash Meghwal from Shahpura in Bhilwara, and Priyanka Choudhary from Barmer, have not withdrawn their nominations as independents. This has resulted in triangular electoral contests on these seats.
The deadline for withdrawing nominations was Thursday. The Rajasthan Assembly, consisting of 200 members, is scheduled for polls on November 25, with vote counting taking place on December 3.
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