Women candidates in Rajasthan: Royalty to daily labourer

, Apr 8: Ranging from royalty to daily labourer - 17 women

from diverse backgrounds are in the fray for the first phase of Lok Sabha

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but all eyes will be on Jhunjhunu seat that will witness as many as five women battle it out for electoral supremacy.

Of the 17 women contesting in 20 constituencies in the first phase, three sitting MPs, including two Congress Union ministers -Chandresh Kumari Katoch and Girija Vyas- hope to cash in on their work to secure victory at the hustings.

Women constitute about 50 per cent of total 4.2 crore voters in Rajasthan

A total of 239 candidates are fighting in the first phase on April 17. Rajasthan, which has a total 25 constituencies, will witness the second phase of polls for five seats on April 24 for which the nomination process is on. Union minister and Congress' Katoch, who has assets worth over Rs 10 crore, is fighting to retain her Jodhpur seat. She bagged the seat in 2009 after defeating the then BJP sitting MP Jaswant Singh Bishnoi by over 98,000 votes.

Katoch, sister of the head of erstwhile Jodhpur royal family Gaj Singh, is said to have won last time mainly because of the support from her community. The situation, however, could be different time as BJP's Gajendra Singh Shekhawat also enjoys a good grip in the region, analysts say. The Jodhpur constituency, which had sent Ashok Gehlot to Parliament five times, is also being eyed by Independent candidates Mehmooda Begum and Jayda, who is an illiterate.

In Jhunjhunu, the five women in fray are BJP's Santosh Ahlawat, Congress' Raj Bala Ola, BSP's Rahisa Bano, Megh Desham Party's Urmila and Independent candidate Rajbala. 26-year-old Urmila, the youngest woman candidate in the fray, has mentioned herself as a labour, having a cash of Rs 20,000, in an affidavit submitted to the Election Commission.

Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Girija Vyas, also from Congress, is fighting to retain her position from Chittorgarh where two other women -- CPI's Radha Devi and Rajasthan Vikas Party's Vijaya Ray -- have thrown in hats.

Congress' Jyoti Mirdha, who holds an MBBS degree and is the richest woman in the first phase of polls from the state, is the sitting MP from Nagaur that lies about midway between Jodhpur and Bikaner.

The grand daughter of Jat leader and six-time MP Nathuram Mirdha, Jyoti heavily banks on the name and reputation of her grandfather who died in 1996. In 2009, she had defeated BJP candidate Bindu Chaudhary with a margin of 1.55 lakh votes. She faces a strong challenge from BJP candidate C R Chaudhary and Independent candidate and sitting MLA Hanuman Beniwal this time round.

Women constitute about 50 per cent of total 4.2 crore voters expected to exercise franchise from the border state.

PTI