40 candidates filed nominations for 1st phase of LS polls in Raj

Jaipur/Sikar: Forty candidates have filed nominations for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan so far, officials said on Tuesday. BJP candidates Jyoti Mirdha and Sumedhanand Saraswati filed nominations from Nagaur and Sikar Lok Sabha constituencies, respectively on Tuesday. INDIA bloc constituent the CPI(M)'s candidate Amraram filed his nomination from Sikar on the same day. Mirdha, a former Congress MP from Nagaur who joined the BJP ahead of the 2023 assembly elections, is pitted against Rashtriya Loktantrik Party convener Hanuman Beniwal who is contesting the elections in alliance with the Congress. Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan will be held in two phases on April 19 and 26. Nagaur and Sikar are among the 12 parliamentary constituencies where polling will be held in the first phase on April 19. The last date for filing nomination papers for the first phase is March 27. Scrutiny will be held on March 28 and the last date of withdrawal of nomination is March 30. Addressing a public meeting in Sikar, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma accused the Congress of indulging in vote-bank politics and said that the BJP always works keeping in mind the welfare of the people and the country.