Chandra Prakash Joshi(L), Udai Lal Anjana(R).
Credit: X/@cpjoshiBJP; X/@Udailalofficial
Chandra Prakash Joshi (48) is a two-time MP from Chittorgarh and BJP's state president.
He first won in 2014 and then again in 2019. He came into the limelight when in a surprise move in March 2023, he was named the BJP state president, just before the assembly elections in November-December 2023.
A zilla parishad member from 1994-95 and 1995-96 and up-pradhan from Bhadesar panchayat, Joshi has risen up the ranks.
Interestingly, his political life began with the Congress, having been a member of the NSUI. He became the vice-president and president of his college’s student union in Chittorgarh between 1994 and 1996. He later joined the ABVP and climbed up the ladder. He also became the president of BJYM. He has been winning the Lok Sabha polls with huge margins, like the 2019 Lok Sabha election when he won by over 5.76 lakh votes.
He was the BJP vice-president from August 2020. He is an organisational man and the Brahmin face of BJP in Rajasthan. His tenure as state president is marked by BJP’s victory in Rajasthan Assembly polls.
He has been considered reasonably successful in bringing the various factions in the party together. When he took over a year ago, the BJP was a divided house, with one faction openly siding with Vasundhara Raje.
He is considered neutral and poised and is held in confidence by Amit Shah.
One of his setbacks was not being able to prevent Chandrabhan Singh Aakya, the sitting MLA from from contesting as an Independent from Chittorgarh and winning, after BJP denied him ticket and replaced him with BJP senior leader Narpat Singh Rajvi during Assembly elections. Rajiv secured a poor third position.
On the other hand, Udai Lal Anjana (73) a former Congress minister, is also one of the richest candidates fighting the elections. A businessman and founder of the UB group, he has declared Rs 122.9 crore in his affidavit, which is one of the highest amongst all candidates.
He was an MP from Chittorgarh in 1998 when he defeated one of BJP’s tallest leaders — Jaswant Singh. He has also been a three-time MLA from Nimbaheda. He was, however, defeated in the recent Assembly polls in 2023 by BJP’s Srichand Kriplani.
There were also once talks of Anjana defecting to BJP. But now he promises to scrap the Centre's opium policy which affects farmers in the region, which produces 40 per cent of India’s opium and continuous electric supply.
Both candidates, however, have to face Bharat Adivasi Party’s Mangilal Ninama, who is expected to cut into the votes in tribal-dominated regions of Pratapgarh, Badi Sadri and Begun, of both Congress and BJP.