Govind Singh Dotasra, A Grassroots-Level Leader Who Rose Through The Ranks (Image: X @GovindDotasra)
Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra recently made headlines as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided his premises in Jaipur and Sikar as part of a money laundering investigation into the alleged exam paper leak case. ED raids put the Congress chief in the spotlight, and the election battle became intense in the poll-bound state.
Govind Singh Dotasra, who belongs to the numerically strong Jat community, has been pitted against the BJP”s Subhash Maharia in the Lachhmangarh constituency. Notably, Subhash Maharia is a former Congress leader. Subhash Maharia, a former Union Minister, joined the BJP in May 2023. So, Govind Singh Dotasra has to retain his seat against his former colleague.
The Congress leader, who has completed his B.Com and then his LLB from Rajasthan University, has begun his political career at the grassroots level in the party. The veteran leader also practiced in a Sikar court for almost two decades. He had contested the Lakshmanagarh panchayat samiti in 2005. Three years later, in 2008, Dotasra received the party ticket for the assembly elections and won his first assembly election from the Lachhmangarh constituency. He won that election by a margin of 34 votes. It is to be noted that the Lachhmangarh constituency has been held by Govind Singh Dotasra since 2008. While Govind Singh Dotasra got 98227 votes in the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly polls, BJP candidate Dinesh Joshi was able to secure only 76175 votes. After this victory, Dotasra, an Ashok Gehlot loyalist, got appointed as the Minister of State for primary and secondary education in the Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government.
In July 2020, Govind Singh Dotasra was elevated to the post of state Congress chief. The veteran leader became the Congress chief after the removal of Sachin Pilot following a rebellion within the ruling Congress. As Govind Singh Dotasra is aiming for a fourth victory, the BJP”s Subhash Maharia is hoping for some anti-incumbency against the Congress leader. Dotasra and Maharia faced each other in the 2013 electoral battle. In that Assembly poll, Dotasra defeated Maharia by more than ten thousand votes and retained the Lachhmangarh constituency.
