In a likely bid to counter the sympathy factor, the BJP today made Surendra Pal Singh a Minister of State (Independent) in the Bhajan Lal cabinet.
Tag: Rajasthan bypolls
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Loyalists seek Vasundhara Raje return after BJP’s Rajasthan bypoll debacle
Express News Service
JAIPUR: After facing a crushing defeat in the Vallabhnagar and Dhariyavad by-elections, there is discord within Rajasthan BJP with Vasundhara Raje camp getting active again.
Two of Raje loyalists, former MLAs Prahlad Gunjal and Bhavani Singh Rajawat have questioned party’s defeat raising demand to hand over the leadership to the former CM along with making her the face of the party for the 2023 assembly elections.
Ruling Congress had emerged victorious on both seats, the BJP suffered a big blow as it finished third and fourth after votes were counted on Tuesday.
Vallabhnagar seat was already with the Congress but the win was especially impressive on the Dhariyavad seat which it wrested from the BJP.
In the anti-Raje camp from the RSS, however, leaders cracked that Raje supporters are afraid of losing their ticket.
“Vasundhara ji’s supporters should also tell if there was so much charisma under the leadership of Raje, then why did the party lo the elections in 2018 despite the huge wave of Modi,” said a senior leaders on the condition of anonymity.
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Bypoll results: Congress gloats, calls government policies anti-people
Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The sweep in Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan bypolls and a prestigious win in Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai’s home district have come as a big boost to the beleaguered Congress while the Northeast remains a cause of worry for the grand old party.
In a major upset for the BJP in Himachal and home state of BJP chief JP Nadda, the Congress won all three Assembly seats of Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai. Worse, the ruling BJP’s candidate Brigadier (retd) Khushal Singh Thakur lost to former Congress MP Pratibha Singh in Mandi Lok Sabha seat as well.
A senior Congress said it reflects the mood of the people in the BJP-ruled state where elections are scheduled by the end of 2022. But many in the party expressed concerns over the party losing all contested seats in the Northeast. “This will boost the party’s performance polls in five states and this is a vote against the anti-people policy of BJP government in states and Centre,” said the leader.
What has come as a setback for Karnataka CM is the BJP losing Hangal in his home district Haveri. The bypoll was seen as a prestige issue for the CM who replaced BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa. In Rajasthan, the Congress’ win in two seats has given a big boost to CM Ashok Gehlot, who has been under pressure for cabinet expansion and reshuffle to include members from the Sachin Pilot camp.
Later, the Congress warned the Modi government to shed arrogance and repeal three farm laws and stop looting of petrol, diesel and gas. “The BJP lost 2 of 3 Lok Sabha bypolls. It lost at most places in a direct contest with Congress. HP, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Maharashtra have witnessed it. Disdain for people’s pain is harmful,” tweeted senior leader RS Surjewala.
In Maharashtra, the Congress won Deglur with Jitesh Antapurkar defeating BJP’s Subhash Sabne. The bypolls were held to three Lok Sabha seats and 29 Assembly constituencies. In Madhya Pradesh, BJP won Khandwa Lok Sabha and Jobat, Prithvipur which were earlier with the Congress. The ruling BJP lost Raigaon to the Congress.
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Congress candidates leading in Rajasthan bypolls
By PTI
JAIPUR: Congress candidates are headed towards victory in Dhariawad and Vallabhnagar assembly constituencies of Rajasthan where counting of votes is underway on Tuesday for the bypolls.
According to latest trends, Nagraj Meena is leading by a margin of 1,21,43 votes over BJP candidate Khet Singh Meena in Dhariawad while in Vallabhnagar, Preeti Shaktawat is ahead of Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) candidate Udailal Dangi by a margin of 6,501 votes.
Congress leaders said the people voted for the good governance of Ashok Gehlot government while the BJP said division of votes caused a setback for the party.
“The Congress candidates on both the seats are going to win the elections with huge margins. This is what we had expected,” sports minister Ashok Chandna said.
He said the people have voted for the good governance of the state government.
Transport Minister Pratap Singh Khachariawas said the Congress will win both the bypolls.
“Congress contested elections on the governance delivered by Ashok Gehlot government and we are going to win the bypolls. It clearly shows that the leadership of Gehlot is successful,” he said.
BJP state president Satish Poonia said local equations were not in favour of the party.
“The trends are not as per our expectation. I believe that the local equations were not in our favour. Let the results come, we will analyse it,” Poonia said.
He said it was not a mandate in favour of the Congress party and BJP suffered because of the division of votes in both the constituencies.
The counting of votes is going on at respective district headquarters amid tight security arrangements.
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BJP announces candidates for bypolls to two seats in Rajasthan
By PTI
JAIPUR: The BJP has announced the names of candidates for bypolls to be held on Vallabhnagar and Dhariawad assembly seats in Rajasthan.
The party has fielded Himmat Singh Jhala from Vallabhnagar (Udaipur) and Khet Singh Meena from Dhariawad (Pratapgarh) assembly seats.
The bypolls have been necessitated due to the demise of BJP MLA from Dhariawad, Gautam Lal Meena, and Congress MLA from Vallabhnagar, Gajendra Singh Shaktawat.
Instead of giving ticket to the family member of Gautam Lal Meena, the party has fielded another leader Khet Singh Meena on the seat.
Khet Singh Meena has the backing of the RSS, according to party sources.
In Vallabhnagar, the party has fielded local Rajput candidate Himmat Singh Jhala who has influence on the community.
The Congress is yet to announce the name of candidates.
The last date of nomination filing is October 8.
Polling will take place on October 30 and counting of votes will be held on November 2.
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Rajasthan bypolls: Counting of votes in three assembly seats on May 2
By PTI
JAIPUR: The counting of votes in the bypolls to Sahada, Sujangarh and Rajsamand assembly seats in Rajasthan will be held on Sunday.Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said all preparations for the counting of votes have been completed.
He said only those people with double vaccination certificates or negative reports of RT-PCR test will be allowed at the counting venue.
The officer said all the employees or officers appointed in the counting hall will be wearing masks, face shields and gloves amid the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
He said counting will be done in 30 rounds in Sujangarh, 28 in Sahada and 25 rounds in Rajsamand.
According to officials, 60.37 percent voters exercised their franchise during the bypolls held on April 17.
In the 200-seat assembly in the state, the Congress has 104 MLAs, BJP 71, RLP three and the CPI(M) and RTP two MLAs each as well as 13 independents.
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Moderate turnout in Rajasthan by-polls amid controversy
Express News Service
JAIPUR: The by-elections to three assembly seats in Rajasthan went off peacefully on Saturday, with moderate to high turnout recorded across most areas of Rajsamanad, Sahada and Sujangarh constituencies.With the coronavirus crisis rapidly exploding across the country, polling was held from 7 am onwards amid strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols and Covid infected patients were also allowed to vote between 5 pm to 6 pm.
The polling day saw long queues from the morning and by 11 am, around 23 per cent of voters had used their franchise. By the end of the day, Rajsamanad saw 67.18 per cent, Sujhangrah saw 59.20 per cent and in Sahada 56.56 per cent votes were cast. The chief electoral officer Praveen Gupta said all voters had to undergo thermal scanning and wore gloves and masks at polling booths to curb the spread of the Covid-19.
The officials also ensured that social distancing norms were followed strictly.
The voting day also witnessed some controversies as the BJP leaders complained of poll code violations and misuse of government machinery by the ruling Congress. BJP state president Satish Poonia took to Twitter claiming that the Congress had misused government machinery to influence voters. The BJP chief alleged that in one area, local Congress leaders had brought in MNREGA workers to vote in two special buses.
The Rajsamand assembly constituency was the centre of much controversy as some BJP-Congress workers had clashed on the eve of elections. The BJP also claimed that party leader Diya Kumari, the MP from Rajsamand, was the target of a serious attack though she escaped unhurt. As over 150 BJP workers were arrested by the local police, BJP chief Satish Poonia tweeted, “The way the government machinery and the police in Rajsamand are being misused, we feel as if we are fighting the election not against the Congress party but the government machinery in the constituency.”
In the high-stakes battle in Rajsamand, the BJP’s Deepti Maheshwari (the daughter of former minister Kiran Maheshwari who died of Covid-19 last November) is pitted against Congress candidate Tansukh Bohra, a social worker.
The ruling Congress, however, was quick to dismiss the BJP charges as baseless. Congress President in the state Govind Singh Dotasara said, “The BJP allegations reflect their fear of losing these by-polls. If people are exercising their right to vote quite enthusiastically and the BJP says this is a misuse of government machinery, then it amounts to an insult of our democracy.”
On the charge of Corona guidelines not being followed, Dotasara remarked, “As regards to flouting of corona norms, the BJP has no moral right to comment. Just look at how Modi and Shah have violated all norms in Bengal and Assam.”
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Over 23 per cent turnout for assembly bypolls in Rajasthan
By PTI
JAIPUR: Over 23 per cent voter turnout was registered in the first four hours of voting in the three assembly constituencies of Rajasthan where polling began at 7 am on Saturday amid tight security arrangements.A total of 23.94 voter turnout was registered at 11 am.
Sahara (Bhilwara) registered 23.94 percent, Rajsamand recorded 23.92 per cent and Sujangarh (Churu) recorded 21.9 per cent turnout, according to a spokesperson.
The polling will decide the fate of 27 candidates in the three constituencies with a total of 7,43,802 voters.
Counting of votes will take place on May 2.
The bypolls are being held after the demise of sitting MLAs Master Bhanwar Lal Meghwal (Sujangarh), Kailash Trivedi (Sahara) and Kiran Maheshwari (Rajsamand).
While Meghwal and Trivedi were Congress legislators, Maheshwari was a BJP MLA and both the parties have given tickets to their family members.
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Rajasthan BJP has received feedback reports from bypoll constituencies: Poonia
Poonia said that the BJP has already completed its groundwork in the constituencies before the announcement of the by-elections.
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Gehlot and Pilot put on a show of unity as they kick-off campaigning for Rajasthan by-polls
Express News Service
The ruling Congress in Rajasthan held two ‘Kisan Mahapanchayats’ on Saturday as part of its farmer outreach and to kick-off its campaign for the four assembly by-polls. Significantly, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot not only spoke from the same platform but also shared the same helicopter as they flew to address the two Mahapanchayats in a bid to present a united face after many months of infighting.Ever since Pilot rebelled against Gehlot’s leadership last July, differences between the two have left the state Congress a fragmented house. Even recently during Rahul Gandhi’s trip to Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot was made to come down from the dais at one rally, a move which left the Pilot camp hurt and angry.
However, as the two leaders flew in the same helicopter, the effort was seen as a damage-control exercise to project a united face of the Congress party keeping in view the upcoming by-elections. Rajasthan in-charge Ajay Maken and state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasara also travelled along with Gehlot and Pilot in the same helicopter to give a message of unity. Interestingly, Sachin Pilot has held three separate kisan mahapanchayats over the past few weeks.
The two kisan mahapanchayats on Saturday were held at Dhaneru in Bikaner district and at Matrakundiya village in Chittorgarh district. The four bypolls are scheduled in Sujangarh, Rajsamand, Sahada and Vallabhgarh as their four MLAs have passed away between October 2020 and January 2021.
Addressing the gathering at Dungargarh, Gehlot urged people to vote for the Congress and claimed that huge injustice was being done to farmers. He remarked, “We all know what is happening in the country. Democracy is being destroyed and farmers are being made to sleep outdoors in biting cold. Farmers want the new laws to be repealed but the government is not ready to listen to them. PM Modi had promised to bring ‘Achche Din’ but people are saying please give back our good old days. These new days have forced farmers to live on the streets.”
Similarly, Pilot stressed how the Congress had opposed the farm laws from the very beginning. He asserted, “When farmers are so upset, it’s difficult to understand, as Rahul Gandhi ji has asked, as to why the Prime Minister can’t repeal the laws. Since farmers are the backbone of the country, why can’t the PM talk to them.”
However, Pilot also indirectly reminded people of his contribution in reviving the Congress in Rajasthan. He remarked, “When the BJP had formed the last government, we were down to just 21 seats in the assembly. But then we worked together and strengthened our party in the state. We are all united and our Congress party is really strong.”
Clearly, before the crucial by-elections in Rajasthan, the Congress is engaged in removing bitterness. But political observers wonder whether the Gehlot-Pilot show of togetherness, including by sharing a helicopter together after almost one and a half years, will last beyond the campaigning for the bypolls.