The Congress fielded Olympian discus thrower Krishna Poonia from the Jaipur Rural constituency as it released another list of nine candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.
By fielding Poonia, a first time MLA from Sadulpur in Churu parliamentary constituency, the Congress party has paved the way for a unique contest — between two sports stars who have won multiple medals for the country. Trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Poonia were part of the Indian contingent at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but the former discus thrower recalls interactions between them to be few and far between.
Sports and I&B minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the 2004 Athens Games silver medallist in the double trap, is the sitting Member of Parliament from Jaipur Rural, a seat he won by a margin of 3.3 lakh votes in 2014.
However, BJP is yet to declare candidates for six seats. Barmer and Rajsamand await their candidates for the first phase of elections on April 29. The other seats which yet get their candidates for the second phase of elections on May 6 are Alwar, Karauli, Dausa, and Nagaur.
