Lok Sabha polls : Congress' Tarachand Meena pitted against BJP's Manna Lal Rawat in Udaipur

New Delhi [India], April 22 : Udaipur, one of the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in Rajasthan, will witness a contest between Congress candidate Tarachand Meena and Bharatiya Janata Party's nominee Manna Lal Rawat in the second phase of the general election set to be held on April 26. The date of counting and announcement of results is June 4.
Notably, in the Lok Sabha elections 2019, the BJP candidate from Udaipur Arjunlal Meena secured 871548 votes. Congress nominee Raghuvir Singh Meena managed to achieve 433634 votes. Total votes from the Arjunlal Meena constituency was 1455417.
However historically, the Congress party had a stronghold over the Udaipur Lok Sabha seat, transitioning into a reserved seat for Scheduled Tribes, reflecting the demographic composition of the region. In 1971 and 1977, the Congress party's dominance over the constituency was challenged by the Swatantra Party and the Indian Lok Dal, respectively.
It is noteworthy that the constituency is defined by a significant Scheduled Tribes population, especially the Meena community which plays a key role in electoral politics.
Congress candidate Tara Chand Meena is a native of Pali district and a 2011-batch IAS officer who was promoted from the state civil services. He is considered close to former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and during his tenure as the district collector of Udaipur for two years, he actively indulged in working in the tribal areas of Udaipur.
On the other hand, the BJP has given the ticket to Manna Lal Rawat from Udaipur. He is working on the post of RTO in Udaipur. He has also worked on the post of DTO, ARTO. He is currently serving as an Additional Commissioner (RTO Officer) of Rajasthan Transport Department in Jaipur.
But during his job, he has made a stronghold in the tribal society. The tribal society also supports him a lot. In such a situation, the BJP has played a big bet on Mannalal Rawat.
Voting for Lok Sabha polls in Rajasthan is being held in two phases. Polling for 2 seats was held in the first phase on April 19 and voting for the remaining 13 seats will be contested in the second phase on April 26. The counting will take place on June 4.
In 2019, BJP registered a sweeping victory winning 24 out of 25 seats, while the remaining one seat was won by Rashtriya Loktrantrik Party candidate Hanuman Beniwal. The second phase will be held on April 26 and the remaining phases will be May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1 accordingly. The last general elections in 2019 were also held in seven phases.