Rajasthan Election Results 2023 Updates: Ashok Gehlot Resigns As BJP Sweeps Desert State, Speculation Grows Over Next CM
Rajasthan Assembly Election Results 2023: The BJP wrested Rajasthan, winning 115 seats out of the 199 where polling took place as the Congress failed to buck the state's three-decade revolving-door trend in which the voters reject the party in power
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defeat shows that we were not completely successful in taking our plans, laws and innovations to the public,” Gehlot posted on X (formerly Twitter).BJP’s most formidable face in the desert state, Vasundhara Raje Scindia, has won from Jhalrapatan — a seat she has held since 2003. Among the other BJP candidates who won are Diya Kumari from Vidhyadhnagar, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore from Jhotwara, Samaram from Pindwara Abu, Govind Prasad from Manohar Thana, Jaswant Singh Yadav from Behror, Mahendra Pal Meena from Jamwa Ramgarh, Anita Bhadel from Ajmer South, and Madan Dilawar from Ramganj Mandi. Apart from Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, who won from Sardarpura and Tonk respectively, the Congress candidates who secured victory include Shanti Dhariwal from Kota North, Tikaram Jully from Alwar Rural, and Anita Jatav from Hindaun.
BJP leader Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has said that the BJP’s Parliamentary Board will make a decision on the CM face in the state. “We contested this election under collective leadership in Rajasthan. Now, the party’s Parliamentary Board will make a decision and whoever is given the responsibility, together we will try to bring in time that will make for the last five years of Rajasthan,” Rathore said.
Meanwhile, Raje while speaking to reporters after her win, said: “This victory is of the mantra of ‘Sabka saath, sabka vishwas and sabka prayaas’ given by PM Modi. It is the victory of the guarantee given by the PM. It is also the victory of the strategy given by Amit Shah and the able leadership provided by Nadda ji. Most importantly, it’s a victory for our party workers.” With the poll trends giving an edge to the BJP in Rajasthan, the party took a jibe at chief minister Ashok Gehlot, saying people have come out of the spell of the “magician”. As per latest trends, BJP is leading in 108 out of 199 seats while the Congress is leading in 75.
Celebrations broke out for the BJP in Jaipur as the party looked set to sweep the desert state. The Congress, which initially tried to catch up, seems to have lost the plot though Gehlot has won from his constituency of Sardarpura, while former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot has won in Tonk.
The comfortable majority for the BJP in Rajasthan means that the party leadership may turn to a new face as its chief ministerial choice, even though two-term former chief minister Vasundhara Raje is a natural contender due to her stature and sizeable support base. Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Arjun Ram Meghwal, state party president C P Joshi, Diya Kumari, who was among the more prominent faces during the campaign, and Mahant Balaknath are being talked about as probables. BJP sources said someone like Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who has been a three-term MLA and enjoys the confidence of the party leadership, will also be a natural contender.
Rajasthan assembly Speaker CP Joshi has lost against his BJP rival Vishvaraj Singh Mewar in Rajsamand district’s Nathdwara seat. Former BJP state president Satish Poonia is trailing in the Amber assembly seat by 2,986 votes, according to the Election Commission trends. Poonia is pitted against Congress’ Prashant Sharma, who is leading with 21,673 votes in four of 20 rounds.
BJP’s Kirodi Lal Meena is leading in the Sawai Madhopur seat with a margin of 3,506 votes against his Congress rival Danish Abrar. Meena, Rajya Sabha MP, is leading with 12,275 votes in three of 19 rounds, according to the Election Commission.
The state recorded a 75.45 per cent voter turnout on November 25, higher than the 74.71 per cent in 2018. There were a total of 1,862 candidates in the fray.
The BJP based its campaign in the state on the development ushered by its government at the Centre and by targeting Gehlot on issues such as exam paper leaks and appeasement politics. Though the Congress has not announced its chief ministerial candidate, it is believed that Gehlot is the frontrunner for the post. The BJP too has fought the elections without naming a CM candidate, but Gehlot’s predecessor Vasundhara Raje is one of the probables from the party.
Leading the campaign for the Congress were its president Mallikarjun Kharge and leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Gehlot. The BJP’s campaign was spearheaded by top leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, its president JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and chief ministers Yogi Adityanath and Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Preparing for every eventuality, both Congress as well as the BJP have started reaching out to Independent candidates, including rebels, and even smaller outfits in case there is a split verdict. There are more than 40 rebels from the BJP and the Congress who contested the elections after they were denied tickets. Some of them are expected to win, sources said.
In the exit polls predictions on November 30, India Today-Axis My India forecast a tight race, predicting 86-106 seats for the Congress, 80-100 seats for the BJP and others 9-18. Dainik Bhaskar gave 98-105 seats to the BJP and 85-95 to the Congress and Jan Ki Baat 100-122 to the BJP and 62-85 to the Congress.
TV9 Bharatvarsh-Polstrat predicted 100-110 for the BJP and 90-100 for the Congress, Times Now ETG 108-128 for the BJP and 56-72 for the Congress and Today’s Chankaya gave a simple majority to the Congress. India TV-CNX put the Congress’ tally at 94 to 104 and the BJP’s at 80-90, Republic TV-Matrize gave 115-130 seats to the BJP and 65-75 to the Congress, and P-MARQ 105-125 to the BJP and 69-91 to the Congress. Jist-TIF-NAI predicted that in Rajasthan there would be continuation of the state’s revolving door tradition.
