Former Rajasthan minister Pramod Jain Bhaya is Congress candidate from Anta

Among the prominent names, Naresh Meena had also been seeking a Congress ticket from Anta. On Tuesday, sharing an old photo with Sonia Gandhi, he had tagged Rahul Gandhi with a request for the party ticket. However, denied a ticket, Meena may now contest as an independent in a triangular contest with the Congress and BJP candidates.

Bhaya is considered close to former chief minister Gehlot. A former member of Baran Zila Parishad, Bhaya was first elected as an independent MLA from Baran in 2003. In the next election in 2008, he was elected from Anta on a Congress ticket, defeating BJP’s Raghuveer Singh Kaushal. He was then made a minister of state for a couple of years in the second Ashok Gehlot government (2008-13).

In 2013, he was defeated by BJP’s Prabhu Lal Saini, but managed to wrest it from Saini in the 2018 elections. In the third Gehlot government, he was made the cabinet minister for Mines and Gaupalan. However, in the 2023 elections, Bhaya was defeated by BJP’s Kanwarlal Meena by 5,861 votes.

The by election was necessitated after the disqualification of sitting BJP MLA Kanwarlal Meena this May under the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951, after he was found guilty under Indian Penal Code sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant), 506 (criminal intimidation), and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act in a 20-year-old case.

In 2005, demanding a re-poll in a sarpanch election in Manohar Thana, Jhalawar, Meena had threatened then RAS officer Ram Niwas Mehta with a revolver.

Following his conviction, Meena did not get relief from the high court while the Supreme Court too had dismissed his petition this year. A delay in termination of his membership had led to a political slugfest between the ruling BJP and the Congress party. Meena, a two-term MLA, has had at least 27 cases filed against him — including attempt to murder, rioting, dacoity, extortion, and outraging modesty. Meena’s lawyers, however, had told The Indian Express that he has been acquitted in most of these cases.

In June, Meena was learnt to have moved the Governor’s office for a pardon under Article 161 of the Constitution.

“Congratulations to former minister Shri Pramod Jain Bhaya on being nominated as the candidate by the Congress Party for the by-election for the Anta Assembly seat. I am fully confident that with the blessings of the people, the Congress Party will win the Anta election by a huge margin,” Gehlot said Wednesday after the declaration of Bhaya’s candidature.

The last date of filing nominations for the bypoll is October 21, while polling will be held on November 11 and results will be declared on November 14.