Jaipur, Oct 27 (PTI) The electioneering for the October 30 bypolls for the Vallabhnagar assembly seat in Udaipur and Dhariawad in Pratapgarh in the Congress-ruled Rajasthan ended on Wednesday evening, 72 hours before the end of polling.

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While both the ruling Congress and opposition BJP put in all efforts to win the seats, regional parties and independent candidates have made the contest triangular.

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The bypolls have been necessitated due to the demise of BJP's Dhariawad MLA Gautam Lal Meena and Congress lawmaker Gajendra Singh Shaktawat of Vallabhnagar.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot addressed bypoll rallies in both the constituencies twice while several ministers and other Congress leaders camped in for weeks amid the campaigning by senior BJP leaders including union ministers.

The Congress party is seeking votes in the name of the Ashok Gehlot government work, including the Covid-19 pandemic management, and made the “skyrocketing” inflation and fuel and LPG gas prices the main issues.

The BJP on the other hand sought to corner Congress over law and order and other issues and highlighted the achievement of the central government.

Vallabnagar assembly constituency, which was represented by Congress party's Gajendra Singh Shaktawat, is witnessing a triangular contest.

The key contestants include Congress candidate Shaktawat's wife Preeti Shaktawat, a BJP rebel and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party candidate Udailal Dangi and yet another former BJP leader and Janta Sena chief Randhir Singh Bhinder, contesting as an independent candidate.

Bhindar's wife Deependra Kunwar, who was denied a BJP ticket, had filed nomination as Janta Sena candidate in Vallabhnagar but she withdrew the nomination.

The constituency has been a stronghold of the Congress party, winning most of the elections to the in the past. Randhir Singh Bhindar had managed to win the seat as a BJP candidate in 2003 and later as an independent in 2013.

Playing the sympathy card, the Congress fielded Gajendra Shaktawat's wife whereas BJP gave ticket to a new face Himmat Singh Jhala.

A total of nine candidates are in the fray for the Vallabhnagar bypoll.

On Dhariawad seat reserved for scheduled tribes, independent candidate Thawarchand, a Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP) rebel is likely to play a spoilsport for Congress candidate Nagraj Meena and BJP's Khet Singh.

During bypoll rallies on Tuesday, CM Gehlot sought votes to strengthen his government and targeted the central government over fuel prices and inflation.

Confident of winning both bypolls, Gehlot claimed that the BJP would secure fourth position in the bypoll.

At the same time, BJP's national general secretary and in charge of Rajasthan Arun Singh attacked the government over law and order saying the crime against women and Dalits have increased under the Congress rule.

BJP state president Satish Poonia said there is a lot of resentment among the people against the Congress government.

“The BJP is going to win the bypolls because people are fed up with the Congress rule. Increased power tariff, undeclared power cuts, incomplete farmer loan waiver, deteriorating law and order are the issues which will play a decisive role in the bypolls,” he said.

In the 2018-assembly elections, Gajendra Shaktawat had won by defeating independent candidate Randhir Singh Bhindar with a narrow margin of 3,719 votes while BJP's Gautam Meena had won Dhariawad seat. He had defeated Congress's Nagraj Meena, who is contesting the bypolls, with a margin of 23,842

The polling will take place on October 30 and counting of votes on November 2.

In the house of 200, the ruling Congress at present has 106 MLAs, BJP 71, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) three, CPI(M) and Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) two each, Rashtriya Lok Dal one and 13 independents.

Two seats are vacant on which the bypolls are taking place.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)