JAIPUR: In a spectacular showing, the Congress won the Mandalgarh and Alwar Assembly by-election in Rajasthan assembly seat by defeating its nearest rival, a BJP candidates and is leading in the parliamentary seat of Ajmer.
A massive blow to the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government in Rajasthan as the Congress still maintaining a significant lead in Ajmer, as per trends available.
Ashok Parnami, BJP state president holds press conference over party’s defeat in Alwar, Ajmer and Mandalgarh.
In Alwar, Congress candidate Dr. Karan Singh Yadav wins by 1,56,319 votes over his nearest rival Jaswant Singh Yadav’s (BJP).
In Mandalgarh, where the BJP was maintaining a lead in the beginning, Congress’ Vivek Dhakad won the seat by a margin of 12976 votes.
In Ajmer, Congress’s Raghu Sharma leads by 90,000 votes. Congress had 154,336 votes in his kitty over BJP’s Ram Swaroop Lamba who had 128,291 votes.
A total of 42 candidates were in the fray in the three seats, all of which were held by the BJP.
The elections were necessitated by the deaths of Sanwarlal Jat (Ajmer), Mahant Chand Nath Yogi (Alwar) and Kirti Kumari (Mandalgarh).
With Assembly elections scheduled later this year in Rajasthan, Congress leaders insisted that the verdict was a rejection of the BJP.
Congress leader and former union minister Sachin Pilot demanded Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s resignation on moral grounds.
“It is a victory for people, party workers and all leaders,” Pilot told the media.
He said the BJP, after failing to woo the voters on the strength of religion, tried to polarize voters on caste lines but failed to fool the young voters.
“Young people in this country have realized that the politics of polarization doesn’t work,” he said. “The high-handedness and arrogance (of the BJP) has been rejected.”
Agencies input