Prime Minister Narendra Modi has entered full campaign mode for the Lok Sabha elections, ready to address a series of rallies across different parts of the nation to garner support for BJP candidates. Modi's Rajasthan tour starts on Friday, reaching the Shekhawati region's Churu, where he will seek votes for the BJP candidate and esteemed Paralympics gold medalist Devendra Jhajharia. Devendra, awarded with Padmashri, finds himself up against former BJP member and two-time MP Rahul Kaswan, who recently joined Congress.

The Shekhawati region of Rajasthan poses a significant challenge for the BJP, having won all 25 seats two elections ago. In the last assembly elections, BJP won 17 out of 25 Shekhawati seats while Congress secured 16 seats. This time, BJP has replaced the ticket of two-time MP Rahul Kaswan with Olympian Devendra Jhajharia, stirring controversy and leading Kaswan to defect to Congress, who has now launched him as their candidate.

Is Rahul Kaswan a challenge for BJP?

The Churu Lok Sabha seat could become a considerable hurdle for the BJP, as the Kaswan family has consistently secured victories under the BJP ticket in past five elections. Before Rahul, it was his father Ram Singh Kaswan that represented this seat. The Kaswan family is believed to be closely associated with former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

Efforts to Win Over the Jat Community.

The buzz is that BJP rescinded Rahul's ticket due to allegations of him working against the powerful leader Rajendra Rathore during the assembly elections, leading to his defeat. Now riding on Congress' vessel, he attempts to turn the election into a Rajput vs. Jat battle, as Devendra Jhajharia is a Jat and portrays himself as a true farmer seeking votes in Modi's name. It is suspected that Narendra Modi will try to appeal to the Jat voter base spread across the country.

Following Churu, Modi will campaign in Ajmer's Jat-dominated constituency for BJP's Bhagirath Chaudhary on April 6th. Bhagirath Chaudhary, the current MP of Ajmer, was previously provided with a BJP ticket for the Kishangarh assembly segment but lost the elections. Nonetheless, BJP has once again fielded him for Ajmer in this election. On the other hand, Congress has fielded the senior Jat leader Ramchandra Chaudhary for the same seat.

Rajasthan will vote in two phases.

Rajasthan's 25 Lok Sabha seats will go to polls in two phases. The first phase on April 19th will include 12 seats, and the second phase on April 26th will cover the remaining 13 seats.

Speaking at a rally in Bihar's Jamui on Thursday, PM Modi blew the electoral trumpet, targeting Congress by saying, 'Today, we see parties like Congress and RJD, those during their governance, have tarnished the country's reputation worldwide.'