The 53-year-old former Union minister secured 1,47,913 votes and defeated his nearest rival Abhishek Choudhary of the Congress. BJP rebel Ashu Singh Surpura, who contested as an independent candidate, stood in the third position with 55,159 votes. Rathore is a national spokesperson of the BJP. Before entering politics in September 2013, the ace shooter and former Olympic silver medallist served in the Army for 23 years. He took voluntary retirement in 2013.
