BSP announces six Lok Sabha candidates for Rajasthan

A dismissed Indian Police Service officer and his wife are among the six Lok Sabha candidates announced by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Saturday for Rajasthan. Pankaj Choudhary, a 2009-batch Rajasthan-cadre officer, will contest from Barmer, while his wife, Mukul Choudhary, has been fielded from Jodhpur.

Former Indian Administrative Service officer Umrao Salodia will contest from Jaipur, Bhagirath Bishnoi from Jalore, Shivaram Meghwal from Pali and Jagdish Sharma from Chittorgarh, BSP state president Sitaram Meghwal said. Pankaj Choudhary will contest from Barmer against Congress' Manvendra Singh, who is the son former BJP leader Jaswant Singh. The IPS officer was dismissed from service last month over an alleged extramarital affair. Mukul Choudhary had announced that she would contest against then chief minister Vasundhara Raje in last year's assembly election but later changed her mind.

She is the daughter of Shashi Dutta, who was the law minister in former chief minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat's government. The BSP is contesting on all the 25 parliamentary constituencies and five nominees were announced earlier. The party boasts of supporters in eastern Rajasthan because of its proximity with neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. Six BSP candidates were elected in the assembly election held last December. Rajasthan will go to polls in two phases on April 29 and May 6.

(With inputs from agencies.)