Rajasthan civic polls: Ex-BJP MLA's 'no youth will remain bachelor' remark goes viral

Jaipur: Political activity has intensified in Rajasthan ahead of the municipal body elections, with a video of former BJP MLA Ram Lal Sharma drawing attention on social media over his remarks about the marriage prospects of unmarried youths.

The controversy surfaced after Sharma, while inaugurating the election office of BJP candidate Rajkumar Barala, contesting from Ward 20 of the Chomu Municipal Council, said: “Get Rajkumar Barala elected once, and not a single boy of yours will remain a bachelor.”

The statement has since become a talking point in local political circles.

Addressing party workers and supporters, the former Chomu MLA said that if Barala is elected, there would be no shortage in getting their work done. During his address, he also referred to marriage, saying that none of the unmarried youths among those present would remain without a marriage.

Sharma’s latest remark is also being linked to an incident from last year, when a 43-year-old unmarried man sought his help in finding a marriage match. Kailash Sharma, a resident of Chitwadi in Chomu, had reportedly written to the former MLA after seeing a statement on social media about helping unmarried men above the age of 40 get married. In his letter, Kailash said he was 43 and still unmarried and appealed to Sharma to help him find a match.

Sharma’s latest remarks are now being viewed in the context of that earlier episode.

The electoral contest in the Chomu Municipal Council has also become competitive, with 119 candidates contesting across 45 wards. While BJP and Congress candidates are facing each other directly in most wards, candidates from the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) and several independents, including rebel candidates, have added another dimension to the contests.

In these wards, candidates other than those from the BJP and Congress are in the fray. Independent candidates, particularly party rebels, could potentially influence the electoral equations. Ward 32 has emerged as an even more closely contested seat, with five candidates in the fray.

With several wards witnessing triangular and multi-cornered contests, the outcome in Chomu could depend on how independent and third-party candidates perform.

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