Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 9: Reversing the trend, the BJP has claimed more seats than the Congress in the panchayat elections in Rajasthan which the saffron party claimed showed the trust of the poor and farmers in the Congress-ruled state on the prime minister Narendra Modi.
Even as the counting is underway, the BJP already has claimed 1,836 seats against the Congress party’s 1,718 seats out of the 4,051 seats in the panchayat samitis in 21 districts the elections for which were held out of the total 33 districts in the state. While the independents bagged 422 seats, the results of some 300 seats are still to come in.
Similarly, out of the total 636 seats in the district panchayats, the BJP has won 326 seats, followed by 250 seats by the Congress, 10 by the Rashtriya Loktantric Party (RLP), an NDA ally in Rajasthan, two by the CPI(M) and the rest by others. The results of 30 seats are still awaited.
The results indicate that the BJP can form boards in 14 districts of Ajmer, Barmer, Bhilwara, Bundi, Chittaurgarh, Churu, Jalaire, Jhalawar, Jhunjhunu, Pali, Rajsamand, Sikar, Tonk and Udaipur while the Congress has secured majority only in five districts, Banswara, Bhilwara, Pratapgarh, Hanumangarh and Jaisalmer and the RLP in Nagaur where the party won 20 seats followed by 18 won by the BJP and nine by the Congress. The RLP will also be the kingmaker in Barmer where it won one seat on its electoral debut with the BJP and the Congress having won equal number of seats. The party in all probability will support the BJP to form the board. In Dungarpur, Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) will form the board.
Congratulating the party, the BJP national president J P Nadda said the victory symbolised the trust the poor, farmers and labourers have in Modi’s leadership. In a tweet on Wednesday, he thanked women, farmers and other rural voters in the state for putting their “faith” in the BJP.
The BJP state president Satish Poonia claimed that the results of the Panchayati Raj elections show that the days of a “corrupt” Ashok Gehlot government were numbered. He added that the people of the villages have expressed confidence in the BJP and appreciated the efforts of the Modi government.
The former chief minister and the BJP leader Vasundhara Raje congratulating all the winners said “Heartfelt thanks to the people of the state who have reposed their faith in the BJP by denying the false claims of the Congress government.”
The Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government was hoping to maintain its good run in the recent urban body elections — the party had gone on to form Boards in four of six municipal corporations, including Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota, where polls were held in October-November this year.
The BJP seems to have performed better in the constituencies of some top Congress leaders.
In Laxmangarh, the constituency of state unit Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasara, the Congress won only 11 out of the 25 Panchayat Samiti seats, while the BJP won 13 and one seat went to an independent candidate.
In Tonk, home turf of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, BJP won 9 out of the 19 Panchayat Samiti seats, Congress could only win 7 and independent candidates won three.
Similarly, in cabinet minister Raghu Sharma’s constituency of Ajmer, BJP swept 9 out of the 11 Panchayat Samiti seats leaving just two for the Congress.
The BJP also won 14 of the 17 seats in the Nimbahera Panchayat Samiti area, Congress minister Udai Lal Anjana is from this region.
In Hindoli, from where sports minister Ashok Chandna hails, 13 out of the 23 Panchayat Samitis seats have been won by the BJP and 10 by the Congress.