File Photo: Former CM and BJP leader Vasundhara Raje during campaigning for the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly Elections.
Credit: X/@VasundharaBJP
The BJP took Rajasthan in its stride as it swept through all three states of the Hindi Heartland that were up for grabs in the Assembly elections. Despite exit polls suggesting a marginal advantage for the saffron party, reality surpassed expectations, positioning the BJP for a decisive victory.
Disappointment engulfed the Congress camp, with evident anti-incumbency sentiments against the Gehlot government reflecting in the results, restricting the ruling party to below the 70-seat threshold.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the results of the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly Elections, where the BJP is set to assume power with a clear mandate.
See-saw continues
Rajasthan continues its tradition of voting out the incumbent, with Ashok Gehlot becoming the victim of this trend for the third time in his career. The BJP is poised to make a comeback in the desert state, and that too with a comfortable majority. The saffron party is leading in over 115 seats, while the Congress is struggling to reach the 70-seat mark.
Vote share and seat share
While the gap between the seats secured by the BJP and Congress is approximately 50, the difference in the number of votes garnered by the two parties is not substantial.
As of the votes counted until around 4 pm, the BJP has secured close to 42 per cent of the votes, with the Congress's vote share not far behind at 39.5 per cent.
No CM face, no problem
With former CM Vasundhara Raje falling out of favor with the BJP's high command, the party decided not to project a CM face in the state, where the Congress has two highly popular leaders in Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot.
Poll analyst Narayan Bareth told Deccan Herald that the BJP's organisational efficiency and its plank against corruption against the incumbent MLAs helped the party stage a comeback in the state.
Gehlot, Pilot win
Even though the overall results were disappointing for the Congress, the incumbent CM Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot are both on their way to winning their seats by a considerable margin.
Gehlot secured victory by over 26,000 votes from his constituency of Sardarpura, while Pilot soared high with a victory margin of close to 30,000 votes.
Meanwhile, House Speaker C P Joshi lost in the Nathdwara constituency to BJP’s Vishvaraj Singh Mewar by 7,500 votes.
Royals rule
Even as former CM Vasundhara Raje struggles to find favour with the BJP’s top brass, she again showed today that she remains as popular as ever in her bastion of Jhalrapatan. The royal won her seat by a margin of over 50,000 votes, presenting a strong bid to return as the chief minister of the desert state.
Another royal and rumored CM candidate Diya Kumari swept the seat of Vidhyadhar Nagar by a margin of over 71,000 votes. The princess from the Jaipur royal family secured over a staggering 60 per cent of the total votes polled in her constituency.