Congress gives up one more Rajasthani seat in favor of the BAP candidate in Banswara

Following its decision to hand up the Lok Sabha seats of Sikar and Nagaur to its allies the CPI and the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party in Rajasthan, the Congress further conceded ground on Sunday when it announced that it will back Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) candidates in one parliamentary and one assembly bypoll.

Congress leader in Rajasthan “The Congress will, in the upcoming elections, support Bharat Adivasi Party candidate in the Banswara Parliamentary constituency and Bagidora Legislative Assembly bypoll,” said Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, formalizing this decision. Preserving India’s democracy and Constitution is our main goal.

The announcements followed the Congress’s nomination of Arvind Damor, a recent addition and district office holder for the Rajasthan Youth Congress, as its nominee for the Lok Sabha constituency of Banswara Dungarpur.

Rajkumar Roat, a founding member of the Bharat Adivasi Party and current Chorasi MLA, has been named as the party’s candidate. In Rajasthan’s 2023 assembly election, the BAP emerged victorious, gaining three assembly seats and a stronghold in the state’s tribal regions. Roat was one of the celebration’s three winners.

Additionally, the Congress has chosen to back BAP candidate Jaykrishan Patel in the by-election to the Bagidora Assembly. Mahendrajeet Malviya, a four-term Congress member, had been holding the seat up until his unexpected resignation from the party and his election to the BJP, which forced a by-election in the Bagidora Assembly.

Malviya, a four-term Bagidora MLA, is the current BJP nominee for the Lok Sabha constituency of Banswara. His impact will be put to the test in the next Bagidora elections, where the Congress has chosen to back down and allow the BAP candidate to challenge Malviya and the BJP.

In Rajasthan, the BJP has never taken the Bagidora seat. The saffron party finished third in Bagidora’s 2023 Assembly votes, while the BAP secured the second position and Malviya won on a Congress ticket. Now, the Congress will run in 22 of Rajasthan’s 25 LS seats, with the CPI contesting in Sikar, the BAP in Banswara, and the RLP in Nagaur. At now, the state’s 25 Lok Sabha seats are held by the BJP.