Rajasthan

Bharatiya Janata Party sources confirmed to IANS that the party has been dented by the many factions with each group wanting to throttle the other which killed the BJP's prospects in the by-polls held in Dhariyavad and Vallabhnagar. They confirmed that the first challenge emerged when many of the star campaigners including former CM Vasundhara Raje, Om Mathur, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat among others kept themselves at a distance from the campaigning.

A 100-year-old woman Mohini Bai voted in Vallabhnagar, Udaipur, said Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta, adding that a total of 638 polling stations were set up in Vallabhnagar and Dhariawad assembly seats of the state. Out of these, the number of sensitive polling stations was 119, which were monitored through live webcasting, he said.

Both the ministers from Rajasthan face crucial test of their careers in Punjab. While Shekhawat needs to set the base for the BJP where it will be contesting alone after longtime ally Akali Dal snapped ties, Chaudhary shall have to make efforts to bring back the party to power amid fight between two titans -- Navjot Singh Sidhu and former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

Lokesh Sharma, OSD to Gehlot, has been summoned by the crime branch in Delhi on October 22. Sharma was sent a notice to come to Delhi earlier too but he did not go. He has now been called for questioning at 11 a.m. by sending a notice through e-mail. However, Sharma is taking legal opinion regarding this matter.

In December, the Congress government will complete three years of its working and the workers will get only two years to work, out of which the last year of the 5-year term will go in making preparations for the Assembly elections. "We have no grassroots presence, our money has been exhausted and so we are just not prepared to contest polls in the present state," said one of the pilot loyalists to IANS.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday indicated to withdraw the Bill in the virtual programme held on the International Girl Child Day. Speaking on the occasion, he said, "A controversy has arisen in Rajasthan that child marriages are being registered after the Marriage Registration Bill was passed in the Legislative Assembly. There is no prestige issue as far as the Bill is concerned and we are getting it checked by the legal department.

there is an interesting story behind why Pilot drove Gehlot on this occasion. As per sources in the Congress party, Gehlot and pilot along with Rajasthan Congress in-charge Ajay Maken and PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasara flew together in a helicopter to address an election rally on Friday after nomination papers on two seats namely Vallabh Nagar and Dhariayawad were filed by Congress candidates.

The NGO, headed by Madhu Vaishnav and comprising a team of around 80 women, is reaching out to international clients and partnering with international fashion brands to produce garments, accessories and homeware aiming at empowering women through skills development to create meaningful livelihood opportunities.

The two leaders were also accompanied during their flight by Rajasthan congress president Govind Singh Dotasara and Rajasthan in-charge Ajay Maken. They had gone to attend nomination filing programmes in Dhariawad and Vallabh Nagar. It was interesting to see two "rival" leaders sharing chopper and car after triggering a war of words a few days back.

Also, it sent a strong message to former CM Vasundhara Raje's followers that they should follow party discipline or else they stand no chance of being fielded in elections. Raje's followers have been indulging in indiscipline since a few months by giving anti-party statements. However, the party delivered a strong message by choosing the above candidates for the two seats.