Congress jolts BJP in Rajasthan civic polls

Raje and son Dushyant suffer losses in their strongholds

The Congress, decimated in Rajasthan in the 2013 Assembly and 2014 Lok Sabha elections, found much to cheer even in its defeat as results of the civic polls were announced on Thursday. Of the 3,351 wards, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 1,443, while the entire opposition won 1,908 in the elections held on Monday.

The party, under state chief Sachin Pilot, turned in a creditable performance by winning or nearing a majority in 40 of the 129 municipalities, against the BJP’s 60. The Congress also embarrassed Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and her son and member of Parliament, Dushyant Singh, by winning significant numbers of wards, and getting a majority in several municipalities in their strongholds in Jhalawar and Dholpur. Pilot said the results were a “vote of no confidence” against the BJP government in Rajasthan. He said the vote difference between the BJP and Congress had reduced to one per cent from 26 per cent in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. “The Congress won in the home turf of the CM who is facing corruption charges,” Pilot said.

Pilot had led a high decibel protest across Rajasthan, demanding Raje’s resignation for her business links with and alleged favours granted to former Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi. “Nearly 64 per cent of the electorate voted against BJP in the civic polls,” Pilot said, attributing BJP's setback in Jhalawar to the allegations of corruption against Raje. In Ajmer also, he said, the BJP could not do well, despite the fact that two ministers in the Rajasthan government and one Union Minister hail from there.

The results were a jolt to the BJP, which earlier this week had indulged in chest thumping for routing the Congress in the Madhya Pradesh civic polls. It had then termed the Madhya Pradesh result “a slap” on the face of the Congress. Apart from Raje, the Congress had ensured a near washout of the monsoon session of Parliament to demand the resignation of Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan because of the ‘Vyapam’ scam.

The Congress won a majority in two civic bodies in Jhalawar, represented by Chief Minister Raje in the Assembly, while BJP won three. In Dholpur, the Congress secured a majority in all three civic bodies of Badi, Dholpur and Rajakhera. Raje belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Dholpur and Singh owns substantial property, including the ancestral palace, there. The BJP also lost Baran district's two civic bodies, which fall in the parliamentary constituency of Dushyant Singh. Independents emerged as the largest bloc in seven municipalities.

Apart from the BJP’s 1,443 wards, the Congress bagged 1,164 wards. Independent candidates won 703 wards, while other parties bagged 41. The August 17 election for 129 civic bodies in the state had witnessed a record polling of 76.19 per cent. In 2010, the BJP had won the elections in 57 civic bodies, while the Congress had managed to get 49. Of the 3,096 wards, the BJP had won 1,261, while the Congress got 1,157. Independent candidates had won 637 wards. In a press statement, BJP President Amit Shah termed the party’s victory in the civic polls “unprecedented and spectacular”. He said the victory was a response by the people of Rajasthan to the negative and anti-development politics of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi. PM Narendra Modi tweeted to thank the people of the state for reposing their faith in the government of Rajasthan.