Rajasthan Elections: Former Home Minister and a reliable long-standing BJP figure Gulab Chand Kataria quit active politics after becoming the governor in Assam last year in February.
This could lead to a massive change in the Udaipur division's political scenario. He had played a vital role in the Janata Party and BJP face here since his first term as Udaipur MLA in 1977.
Out of 10 assembly elections held between 1977 and 2018, Kataria lost one to Congress member Girija Vyas in 1985 from the Udaipur seat. At the same time (1993-2003), he was a two-term MLA from Chittorgarh's Bari Sadri seat.
Kataria's supervision played a pivotal role in BJP's authority in the whole Udaipur division. His absence from the region's political stage might form new challenges for the BJP in southeast Rajasthan and could affect the assembly election results in Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur and Banswara districts.
The opponent, especially Congress, is witnessing Kataria's exit from active politics as an opportunity to strengthen its electoral possibilities in the division. .
Congress had its last win from the Udaipur seat in 1998 when Trilok Purbia won against BJP's Mangi Lal Joshi.
To carry forward Kataria's heritage, Tarachand Jain will stand from Udaipur seat this time.
Whereas Congress has fielded Gourav Vallabh, the national spokesperson of Congress from the Udaipur constituency.
Tarachand Jain a resident of Udaipur, is an experienced politician with a 46-year-long experience in the city's active politics.
He is now a municipal corporation councillor and has many reliable positions in BJP. Congress nominee Vallabh is a chartered accountant from Pipar City of Jodhpur district.
He has worked with the Reserve Bank of India and is also president of the Dungarpur District Cricket Association.
The city has eight assembly seats, of which five seats are reserved for the scheduled tribe (ST) nominees. In 2018, the BJP prevailed over six of the eight seats, incorporating four of the five ST seats.
BJP's Phool Singh Meena secured the Udaipur rural seat (ST) after winning against Congress's Vivek Katara in the 2018 polls.
Meena had also succeeded in the 2013 election. In the 2008 assembly election, Congress member Sajjan Katara, Vivek's mother, won this seat.
The constituency has had a history of unwavering political tendencies, and the upcoming game between Meena and Katara could witness a shift in voter views, given the evolving socio-political tactics.
The Kherwara (ST) seat would see a fourth successive fight between Nanalal Ahari of BJP and Dayaram Parmar of Congress.
Kherwara is a tribal-dominated constituency, the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) and the recently constituted Bhartiya Adim Party (BAP) have fielded their nominees for the upcoming elections.
In the 2018 elections, BTP's Praveen Kumar Parmar finished third and was succeeded by Parmar winning against Ahari, who had won in 2013.
Mavli district which elected Dharamnarayan Joshi of BJP in 2018, has noticed a blend of political affiliations, and the upcoming elections might notice a transition based on emerging local problems.
