After hard-fought political campaign, Assembly election in Rajasthan, Telangana today

After a high-voltage political campaign which witnessed war of words among contending parties over a month, Assembly polls in Rajasthan and Telangana will take place on Friday, December 7, 2018. While Rajasthan is considered to be a straight fight between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress for about 130 Assembly constituencies, in Telangana Congress-led alliance will take on the ruling TRS, and the BJP seeking to make it a triangular contest. Campaigning by political parties came to a formal end on Wednesday, two days ahead of the assembly polls in the states.

Over 2,000 candidates are in the fray for 199 Assembly seats in Rajasthan while as many as 1,821 candidates including a transgender will contest the Telangana elections on Friday. Polling in both the states will start at 7 am and is scheduled to continue till 5 pm in the evening.

Key Candidates in Rajasthan:

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who is contesting from Jhalrapatan constituency hopes to return to the power in the state. In case the Congress is voted to the power, it is expected to pick between former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state party president Sachin Pilot for the top post in the state. In the current House, the BJP has 160 seats and the Congress 25.  This time Raje will face BJP veteran Jaswant Singh's son Manvendra Singh who has defected to the Congress, complaining that his old party had hurt the pride of the Rajputs by ignoring his father in the last Lok Sabha election.

In Tonk, Sachin Pilot and Rajasthan Transport Minister and BJP candidate Yoonus Khan are face to face. Khan is the only Muslim candidate fielded by his party. Ashok Gehlot is fighting for the Sardarpura seat. The polling caps a hard-fought campaign between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Triangular Battle in Telangana:

Telangana Assembly election, which was originally scheduled to be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections next year, will proof if KCR’s gamble to opt for early elections pays off.

The Congress has stitched together “Prajakutami” (People’s Front) along with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) and the CPI to take on the ruling TRS, led by caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR).

The TRS, seeking a second term in office, is going alone, as also the BJP.

The BJP, which won five seats in alliance with the TDP in the last elections in 2014, said it ensured that there is a triangular fight in Telangana this time.

Meanwhile, keeping in mind the security measures, over 18,000 personnel have also been drawn from other states to ensure smooth conduct of polling. Other arrangements are also in place for the December 7 Assembly elections in Telangana and Rajasthan.

Telangana and Rajasthan are the last states to go to the polls in the current round of assembly elections, which also covered Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram. The counting for all states is on December 11.