A tale of shifting political fortunes over decades

Jaipur: All the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan have their own political nature and political climate. Udaipur is one such seat where barring a few leaders like sitting MP Arjun Lal Meena or former MP Dhuleshwar Meena or Girjira Vyas, this seat has usually seen a new face as an MP.

The first Lok Sabha elections in Udaipur were held in the year 1952. At that time, Balwant Singh Mehta of the Congress was elected as MP. However, in the elections of 1957, the Congress changed its candidate and fielded Deenbandhu Paramar, who emerged victorious. Subsequently, in the 1962 and 1967 polls the Congress again changed its candidate and gave a ticket to Dhuleshwar Meena who became an MP.

In 1971 Jan Sangh the predecessor of the BJP opened its account and its candidate Laljibhai Meena was elected from this seat. Then in 1977 under the massive Janta Party wave, Udaipur voted for the party and its candidate Bhanu Kumar Shastri became MP.

In the 1980 polls, Mohanlal Sukhadia, a popular Congress leader, was elected. Serving as CM of Rajasthan for 17 years between 1954 and 1971, Sukhadia initiated significant reforms. In 1984, his wife Indubala Sukhadia won as a Congress MP, followed by BJP’s Gulab Chand Kataria in 1989, illustrating a norm of changing candidates in Udaipur. Exceptions exist, such as Girija Vyas of Congress, who won in 1991 and 1996. In 1998, Shantilal Chaplot of BJP won, followed by Girija Vyas of Congress in 1999. Kiran Maheshwari secured victory for BJP in 2004, but Raghuvir Meena of Congress became MP in 2009. Since 2014, Arjun Lal Meena of BJP has held the seat.