After poll pressure, Rajasthan leaders take a break

After a hectic month of poll campaigning, most candidates in Rajasthan preferred to spend the weekend with their families.

Offices of the Congress and the BJP wore a deserted look over the weekend.

While some chose to get back to their routine, others took a holiday. “After months, I went again for my morning walk and other chores that I was not able to do because of the elections,” BJP leader Arun Chaturvedi told DH.

As the exit polls are favouring the Congress, the mood in the Congress camp is upbeat, and party workers look more confident.

Now the only murmur in the corridors of the Congress offices is the discussion on who will be the next chief minister — Ashok Gehlot or PCC president Sachin Pilot.

Interestingly, when the media asked them, both preferred to stay tight-lipped on the subject.

Another interesting discussion taking hold of the party offices is about the number of seats the Congress will win.

“I think it will be less than 120, even after the exit polls are showing 140-plus,” a senior leader told DH.

Sure of victory

However, Congress workers at the party are sure of a landslide victory for the party in the Assembly polls held on Friday, the counting of which is scheduled on December 11.

Meanwhile, in the BJP camp, the party held its core committee meeting at the BJP headquarters in Jaipur to analyse the poll outcome and to discuss the roadmap ahead.

The meeting, attended by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Jodhpur MP Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, BJP state president Madan Lal Saini, chalked out plans to effectively handle the situation in case the party fell short of the majority.

Soon after the party meetings in both camps, the bigwigs of the Congress and the BJP, including Raje, Pilot and Gehlot, have headed to New Delhi.

According to the data released by the Election Commission, voters’ participation was 74.21%. In 2013, the women’s turnout percentage was 75.57%.