The Anta Assembly seat in Rajasthan’s Baran district is set to witness a keen triangular contest, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielding Morpal Suman as its nominee.
The process of filing nominations for the by-election began on October 13 and so far seven candidates including Congress nominee and former minister Pramod Jain Bhaya along with six independents such as rebel leader Naresh Meena have entered the fray.
The BJP declared its candidate on Friday, giving the ticket to political newcomer Morpal Suman, who will file his nomination papers on Saturday. Monday is the last date for filing nominations.
In terms of electoral experience, Pramod Jain Bhaya of the Congress, a three-time MLA from Anta and a veteran of five assembly contests, stands out. A mass-based leader from the Hadoti region, Bhaya enjoys significant local influence.
Morpal Suman, on the other hand, enjoys strong institutional backing from the ruling BJP, especially in the traditional bastion of former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and her son, MP Dushyant Singh.
The mother-son duo has held the Jhalawar parliamentary seat, which includes the Baran-Jhalawar region, since 1989. Raje herself has represented Jhalrapatan, adjoining Anta, since 2003.
Naresh Meena, though yet to taste electoral success, has been a consistent presence in recent elections. He contested twice for the assembly—first as a Congress rebel independent from Chhabra (Baran district) in 2023, and again from Uniara-Deoli in a by-election last November, where he stood second, securing around 60,000 votes and pushing the Congress candidate to third place despite controversy over allegedly slapping an on-duty SDM. He also contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Dausa.
In the upcoming Anta by-poll, Meena’s candidature poses a potential challenge to both traditional rivals—the BJP and the Congress. Although the Congress camp displayed unity during Bhaya’s nomination rally on Wednesday, party strategists remain wary of the Naresh Meena factor.
The by-election was necessitated following the disqualification of BJP MLA Kanwar Lal Meena, who was convicted in an old criminal case.