Ashok Gehlot's close aide joins BJP, withdraws independent nomination

Jaipur: Rameshwar Dadhich, a close aide of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former mayor of Jodhpur, withdrew his nomination as an independent candidate for the upcoming state Assembly polls and joined the BJP.

Vinod Sharma, former Dausa district president of the Congress, also decided to join the BJP on the same day.

In Jaipur, former minister Rajpal Singh Shekhawat, who had filed his nomination to contest against the BJP's Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in Jhotwara, withdrew his nomination following discussions with the party's high command.

Rameshwar Dadhich, expressing his reasons for joining the BJP, stated that he was impressed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision-making abilities. He particularly praised Modi's leadership in the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. He noted that such an endeavor would not have been possible without Modi as the Prime Minister.

Dadhich officially became a member of the BJP in the presence of Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, who serves as the party's Rajasthan election in-charge, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and Member of Parliament Rajendra Gehlot.

Shekhawat highlighted that many leaders from the Congress and other parties are gravitating towards the BJP due to their frustration with the policies and unfulfilled promises of these parties. He asserted that it is time for the Congress government to exit from the state.

Notably, several BJP rebels, including 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 retained their nominations as independent candidates, setting the stage for triangular electoral contests in these constituencies.

Meanwhile, former Congress MLA from Badi Sadari, Prakash Choudhary, Mahendra Barjod from Dungarpur's Chorasi, Rajkaran Choudhary from Sardarshahr, and Brahamdev Kumawat from Masuda have not withdrawn their candidacies and will contest as independent candidates.

The withdrawal of nominations concluded on Thursday, and the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly is set to go to polls on November 25, with the vote counting scheduled for December 3.