The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday released the first list of 41 candidates for the Assembly elections in Rajasthan scheduled on November 22.
Interestingly, seven sitting members of parliament including Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari and Jaipur Rural MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, have found their names in the first list.
While Diya Kumari, a member of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family, will fight the elections from Jaipur's Vidhyadhar Nagar constituency, Rathore will be contesting from Jhotwara, also in Jaipur district.
The party said that its central election committee has approved the names of 41 candidates.
Earlier in the day, the Election Commission announced the poll schedule for five states, setting the stage for what is seen as a semi-final between the BJP and the opposition alliance ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The commission said single-phase assembly polls will be held in Madhya Pradesh on November 17, Rajasthan on November 23, Telangana on November 30 and Mizoram on November 7 while Chhattisgarh will go to the polls in two phases on November 7 (20 seats) and 17 (70 seats).
The votes will be counted on December 3.
Rajasthan, which has 200 assembly seats, will witness a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress with the saffron party looking to dethrone the Ashok Gehlot government.