BJP Ahead in Rajasthan Civic Polls, But a Setback for Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje
Mangalore Today News Network
Jaipur, Aug 20, 2015: Vasundhara Raje’s BJP is ahead in a high-stakes municipal election in Rajasthan, but the Chief Minister has suffered a setback with the opposition Congress winning two civic bodies in Jhalawar, her Assembly constituency.
In a muted victory, the BJP is so leading in 68 of the 129 seats, the Congress in 33 and others in 21. The BJP, which had swept elections to 46 municipalities in November last, had expected to perform much better today.
The Congress’s Sachin Pilot said today’s result is a "moral defeat" for the BJP. He said the gap in vote share between the BJP and the Congress is just one per cent; it was 26 per cent when the BJP swept the state in national elections last year, he pointed out.
The Congress has attributed Ms Raje’s first below-par performance in two years to the allegations of corruption swirling around her on account of her links with tainted cricket tycoon Lalit Modi.
Today’s elections to 129 municipalities in 31 districts Lok Sabha elections was the first big political test for Ms Raje after what is called ’Lalitgate’ surfaced, and was seen as a prestige battle.
The setback in Jhalawar, where Ms Raje’s son Dushyant Singh was in charge, is thus a big loss of face for the Chief Minister. The BJP is attempting to attribute the loss to a rebel candidate joining the Congress.
Ms Raje had led her party to a two-thirds majority in the Assembly elections held in late 2013, unseating the Congress. Months later she posted a perfect score in the national election, with the BJP winning all 25 of Rajasthan’s seats.
The civic polls were also a test for Sachin Pilot. The young Congress leader and former Union Minister has been engaged in revitalising his party’s deeply fractured cadres in the state after it was decimated in recent elections.
In the state, Mr Pilot has spearheaded the attack on Ms Raje. The Congress also took its demand for Ms Raje’s resignation over ’Lalitgate’ to Parliament in the Monsoon Session.
The BJP has stood by its Chief Minister, not least because she is very influential in her state with party cadres and leaders firmly behind her. Ms Raje is credited with knitting the state unit of the BJP back together.
For the first time, every elected councillor in Rajasthan would have at least passed Class 10 and every candidate will have a toilet in his house - this was controversially made mandatory by the state government through an ordinance or executive order recently.
Courtesy: NDTV