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The BJP’s emphatic victory in Rajasthan in the Lok Sabha elections was beyond the imagination of the ruling party in the State, the Congress, as well as the Opposition, the BJP. The Congress, buoyed by its victory in last year’s Assembly polls and two by-polls — in Ajmer and Alwar — had hoped to improve its tally, but the BJP swept the State with better margins than it had in 2014.
The BJP tsunami effectively drowned Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot, who had contested from Jodhpur.
Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje thanked the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the victory. “The BJP under the leadership of Amit Shah and Modi has reached new heights. I thank the voters of Rajasthan,” she said. Her son Dushyant Singh, who had won the Jhalawar-Baran seat with a margin of more than 2.81 lakh votes in 2014, was leading this time round with an increased margin of 4.5 lakh votes.
Though farmers had expressed displeasure in many parts of the State against the BJP in the past five years, the Congress failed to tap the discontent beyond promising a loan waiver. In all the farmer-concentrated seats of the State — such as Sikar, Churu, Ganganagar and Jhunjhunu — the BJP has improved its winning margin vis-à-vis 2014.
Subhash Chandra Baheria, the BJP candidate from Bhilwara, was leading with a margin of more than 6.1 lakh votes. In 2014, his margin was 2.46 lakh votes. Similarly, in Chittorgarh, Chandra Prakash Joshi of the BJP was leading by 5.53 lakh votes, an increase of more than 2.5 lakh votes from 2014. In Rajsamand, a constituency that had helped the Congress in the Assembly polls, the BJP’s Diya Kumari was leading by a margin of more than 5.5 lakh votes.
Campaigning strategy
The BJP had largely depended on Modi’s popularity in the State to woo voters. The campaigns were planned in such a manner that the edge in electioneering remained always with the BJP. Also, the Congress’s candidates failed to make any mark amid the people; even within the party, there were complaints over the way candidates were selected.
Congress workers also complained that the party’s focus remained on Jodhpur, where the CM’s son was the candidate. The Congress also failed to strike an alliance with Hanuman Beniwal’s Rashtriya Loktantrik Party. Eventually, Beniwal went with the BJP, helping it retain crucial Jat votes in about 10 constituencies. He himself had an edge of about 1.75 lakh votes over the Congress’s Jyoti Mirdha.
In constituencies such as Jaipur Rural, Sikar, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Bikaner and Ganganagar, where Jat votes were crucial, Beniwal’s presence helped the BJP not just to retain its seats, but also to improve its margins. The BJP had also used the furore over the alleged gang-rape of a Dalit woman in the State, accusing the Congress government there of inaction.
At the State level, today’s defeat may create a power struggle between Gehlot and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot. The Congress has 100 seats in the 200-member Assembly, where it has the support of BSP and Left parties.
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