In the run-up to the polls, the ‘Modi wave’ wasn’t as evident elsewhere in India as in Rajasthan. It had threatened the Congress’ annihilation for the second time in just five months flat after having aided Vasundhara Raje to hand out one of the worst drubbings to the Ashok Gehlot Government in the Assembly polls in December last year and return to power. On Friday, it did just that!
The Congress found itself blown away from the desert State by the phenomenal ‘Modi wave’ — perhaps, Tsunami would be a better catch-phrase. The scoreline reads 25:0 in favour of the BJP. It means, the BJP not only avenged its humiliation of 2009 but, in fact, did ‘five better’. The Congress had then won 20 seats and the BJP just four.
The BJP ensured its ‘Mission 25’ got accomplished in Rajasthan, which was one of the seven States where the Congress could not open its account. The emphatic BJP victory saw all the 5 Union Ministers from the State lose; the BJP candidate from Jaipur win by the biggest margin in the State (nearly 5.40 lakh); cricketer-turned-politician Md Azharuddin fail to break a record by becoming the first Muslim from the State in two decades to enter the lower House; and BJP’s old warhorse-turned-rebel Jaswant Singh taste defeat despite putting up a tough fight.
After the BJP’s landslide victory in the Assembly elections, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had maintained the performance will help the party in the lok Sabha polls also. The anti-incumbency against the Ashok Gehlot Government was the main reason for the Congress’ drubbing then with the Modi-effect playing its part in its own way.
Now, it was the ‘Modi wave’ which played the dominant part in BJP’s showing, aided by the strong anti-incumbency against the Congress-led UPA dispensation at the Centre. While the caste factor did play a role, the voters exercised their franchise decisively for the developmental agenda outlined by Modi.
While Raje credited Modi and the party workers and people for the resounding victory, State Congress chief and Union Minister Sachin Pilot termed it a “setback for the party” in Rajasthan and took “full responsibility” for the defeat. Pilot, who himself lost by a margin of 1.50 lakh votes, was one of the five Central Ministers from the State who bit the dust. Girija Vyas, Namo Narain Meena, Jitendra Singh and Chandresh Kumari Katoch were the other Union Ministers who lost.
State Capital Jaipur led the way in the humungous BJP victory with its candidate Ram Charan Bohra trouncing the sitting Congress MP Mahesh Joshi by nearly 5.40 lakh votes to register in his name the record for the highest victory margin in the State.
In adjacent Jaipur Rural seat, first timer and Olympic silver medalist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore handed out a humiliating defeat to Congress strongman and former Union Minister CP Joshi by winning with a margin of over 3.30 lakh votes.Among others who suffered similar humiliation was a royal and Union Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch. She lost by a margin of over 4 lakh votes.
In Dausa, it was former DGP of the State and brother of Union Minister Namo Narain Meena who breasted the tape ahead of the maverick Meena leader Kirodi lal Meena.
In Barmer, which was in the limelight due to BJP rebel Jaswant Singh taking on his erstwhile party, the fight seemed close to begin with but eventually it was Congress’ turncoat and Vasundhara’s handpicked Col Sona Ram who romped home by over 87,000 votes. BJP’s ‘Mission 25’ didn’t take the Jaswant hit.