Fatehpur to see close fight, Rathore to boost BJP prospects in Taranagar

The Fatehpur Assembly constituency in Rajasthan's Sikar district, which the Congress won by a margin of merely 860 votes, is again in the limelight for the 2023 Assembly elections. 

- RAHUL GAHLAWAT

This seat has never been a stronghold of any political party; rather, it went with the strongest candidate. In the last 10 state Assembly elections, the winning margin has crossed the 1000 mark only twice, and no candidate, except Bhanwaru Khan of Congress, has been re-elected in this constituency. In the 2018 elections, Congress's Hakam Ali Khan defeated the BJP's Sunita Kumari by a margin of 860 votes. This time, Congress has again fielded Hakim Ali Khan, while the BJP has changed its candidate and has fielded Shravan Chaudhary, who recently joined the BJP from the BSP. Chaudhary had to face heat from the local leaders after his candidature was announced. Madhusudan Bhinda, the son of a former MLA, has opposed his candidature and said he will enter the election campaign as an independent candidate if the candidate is not changed. He also said that Chaudhary is an outsider to the constituency. However, things seem fine as of now for Chaudhary. He projects himself as a firebrand Hindu from a Muslim-dominant seat.