The BJP on Thursday romped home in the Rajasthan’s civic bodies’ elections winning 67 out of 129 municipal bodies that went to poll. The Congress bagged 33 and others registered victory on 18 seats. The BJP and the Congress were tied on 11.
In the final tally of results, out of 3,351 wards in the civic bodies, including the Ajmer Municipal Corporation, the BJP won 1,443 wards, the Congress 1,164, Independents 703, the NCP 19, the BSP 16, the CPI 5 and the CPM one ward, according a Rajasthan State Election Commission spokesman.
The Congress won majority in two civic bodies in Jhalawar district represented by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in the Assembly and her son Dushyant Singh in the lok Sabha, while the BJP won three.
In Dholpur, the Congress secured majority in all three civic bodies of Badi, Dholpur and Rajakhera. Raje belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Dholpur.
Scoring victory in civic polls in Rajasthan which came close to the BJP’s similar success in Madhya Pradesh local bodies elections, the BJP claimed that people have rejected the “campaign of calumny” unleashed against it by the Congress against the Chief Ministers of the two States.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Chief Ministers of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh for their “historical victories”. BJP chief Amit Shah congratulated the people of Rajasthan “for reposing faith” in the party and voting for it in the civic body polls.
Talking to newspersons Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the rival Congress has lost ground in both the States.
“Congress had unleashed a campaign of calumny bordering on malicious falsehood against (MP Chief Minister) Shivraj Singh Chouhan and (Rajasthan Chief Minister) Vasundhara Raje.
“But the people gave an effective reply to Congress that their allegations are absolutely false and untenable,” Prasad said.
Prasad claimed that the people of Rajasthan and the country in general were backing the BJP as they were happy and satisfied with the effective work carried out by its governments both at the Centre and in the states where it was in power.
“People have rejected the campaign of disinformation and motivation. They trust in the good governance record of the BJP,” he said while describing the civic poll victory as a “very important development”.
On the other hand, calling the results as a “vote of no confidence” against the BJP Government in Rajasthan, Congress state unit president Sachin Pilot said the vote difference between the BJP and the Congress has reduced to 1 per cent from 26 per cent in the lok Sabha elections in 2014.
“The Congress won in the home turf of Chief Minister who is facing corruption charges. Voters have understood and are looking at Congress with hope,” Pilot said at a Press conference.