BJP’s eight bigwigs are facing an uphill task to make a hat-trick in the second phase of Lok Sabha polls in Rajasthan slated for voting in 13 constituencies on April 26.

The candidates are Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, two Union ministers, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Kailash Choudhary, four sitting MPs, PP Choudhary, Bhagirath Choudhary, Dushyant Singh, and SS Jaunapuria, and State BJP President C P Joshi.

Besides BJP, former Congress assembly speaker Dr C P Joshi, sitting MLA Harish Meena, and Vaibhav Gehlot, son of former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, from Jalore seat are among 152 contestants, including seven women candidates, facing tough poll battle.

The 13 Lok Sabha seats are: Ajmer, Tonk-Sawaimadhopur, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Banswara, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Kota and Jhalawar-Baran.

LS Speaker Birla, who is contesting for the third time from the Kota seat in the Hadoti region, is campaigning in villages and panchayats all day long with his supporters as BJP rebel Prahalad Gunjal, who is now a Congress candidate, has openly challenged him.

On April 21, Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed a public rally, and today, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma organised a road show in support of Birla.

Gunjal has got support from Gurjar, Meena and minority votes, and enjoys BJP workers’ internal support giving sleepless nights to the speaker.

Two-time MP Jal Shakti Minister Shekhawat is facing the Congress’ Karan Singh Uchiyarda on the Jodhpur LS seat.

Kailash Choudhary, Union minister of state for agriculture and farmers welfare is in a triangular contest against Congress’ Umedaram Beniwal, and an Independent MLA Raveendra Singh Bhati on Barmer seat.

Three sitting BJP MPs, P P Choudhary, a lawyer in the supreme court, is fielded against Congress’ Sageeta Beniwal in the Pali constituency and Bhagirath Choudhary fielded from the Ajmer seat against Congress’ RamChandra Choudhary, a local leader.

State BJP President CP Joshi is vying for a second term from the Chittorgarh seat against Congress’ Udailal Anjana, former Rajasthan minister.

Contesting for the fifth time on the Jhalawar-Baran seat, Dushyant Singh (MP) is getting her mother and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje’s important role in poll campaigning. Former Congress Minister Pramod Jain Bhaya’s wife Urmila Jain is contesting against Dushyant.

Congress is on sticky turf of the Banswara (tribal belt) seat as the INDIA bloc fielded Bhartiya Adivasi Party (BAP) candidate and sitting MLA Rajkumar Roat, but Arvind Domor whom the Congress has given a ticket is also in the race against Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya who quit as Congress MLA from the Bagidora assembly seat and joined the BJP on the eve of polls.

Harish Meena, sitting MLA from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur LS seat is vying with BJP’s Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria.

The campaigning will come to an end on April 24 evening at 5 pm.