Rajasthan bypolls: CM Bhajan Lal Sharma's governance credited with BJP's impressive show

Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma's governance in the state has been praised by the party workers, who credited the work done by the government with the BJP's impressive performance in the November 13 by-elections in the desert state as it bagged five out of seven seats.

Meanwhile, questions are being raised over alleged infighting among Congress workers over its disappointing performance due to which its tally has been reduced to one which was four before these bypolls.

Political observers believe that the by-election results on seven assembly seats have made significant political implications on veteran leaders including Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, former deputy CM Sachin Pilot, state unit Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra, ex-state Cabinet minister Kirodi Lal Meena and RLP convenor Hanuman Beniwal.

Notably, the BJP has won Jhunjhunu, Deoli Uniara, Ramgarh, Salumber, and Khinvsar. However, Congress has won Dausa while the BAP won Chorasi.

BJP workers submitted that "Sharma's stature in the party has definitely been elevated after the victory on five seats as it shows that the people have marked a stamp of approval on his good governance".

In fact, Sharma himself attended highest election meetings which were equal to those being attended by former CM Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot together.

Meanwhile, CM Sharma credited the victory in five Assembly seats to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's work.

He said: "People trust what PM Narendra Modi says and does. The credit of this victory goes to him, BJP's vote share has increased by 15 per cent in this election and so has workers' dedication and hardwork."

Party leaders said that micro-management on party levels, coordination among party workers and Haryana elections have boosted the confidence of party workers and hence this grand victory.

Speaking in this context, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said: "Winning five out of seven seats is not an easy task. Congratulations on central and state leadership on this victory. Heartiest congratulations to all."

State in-charge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal also congratulated all on the historic victory of the BJP in the bypolls.

He said: "We had one seat before bypolls, now we have won five seats due to the people' support."

The BJP leader said that the Dausa seat has been won by Congress by a very thin margin. "Also, we have reduced the margin of win in Chorasi."

Rajasthan unit party president Madan Rathore told IANS: "The party wanted to go with the best names and hence co-ordinated with each layer of workers to consult on winnable candidates. Once a consensus was built, the names were discussed with Delhi leaders. The names were announced only after consensus was arrived upon on aspiring candidates."

Former state BJP president Satish Poonia also gave credit to this victory to the organisation's micro-management methods.

"BJP's micro-management stands different from other parties. 'Sangathan ke vichar, double engine ki sarkar' helped the party win," he added.

Of the seven contested seats, Congress previously held four seats, BJP had one, and the remaining two were with smaller parties -- the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) and Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP).

This made the bypolls a test for the BJP's governance under Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma.

For the BJP, it was an opportunity to consolidate its position and counter Congress's momentum.

Jhunjhunu was a tough seat for BJP as there was Congress' Ola family holding the fort for over 20 years.

The BJP finally wrested the seat from Congress as the BJP candidate Rajendra Bhambhu won with a massive margin of 45,562 votes, leaving his rival candidate Amit Ola from Congress much behind.

Many heavyweights have fallen flat in these elections. State Minister Kirodi Lal Meena's brother Jagmohan Meena had to face defeat.

Similarly, Congress MP Brijendra Ola's son Amit Ola lost in Jhunjhunu and MP Hanuman Beniwal's wife Kanika Beniwal lost in Khinvsar. Congress candidate from Khinvsar, Ratan Chaudhary's deposit has been forfeited.

In Khinvsar, Kanika Beniwal lost to BJP's Rewant Ram Danga by more than 13,000 votes.

Similarly, the tables turned in the last round of Salumber Assembly constituency and BJP's Shanta Meena won defeating her rival BAP candidate Jitesh Kumar Katara.

Congress' Deendayal Bairwa from Dausa Assembly seat, BJP's Rajendra Bhambu from Jhunjhunu, BJP's Rajendra Gurjar from Deoli-Uniara, BJP's Sukhwant Singh from Ramgarh recorded a massive win.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Adivasi Party (BAP) candidate Anil Kumar Katara has won from Chorasi assembly seat.

Congress' PCC chief Govind Dotasra accepted the defeat as a verdict of the people of the state.

Meanwhile, hints of factionalism affecting party prospects also came out as many leaders told IANS that 'Pilot versus Gehlot' factor again led to the party's defeat.

Jhunjhunu, Dausa and Deoli Uniara have a large number of people from the Gujjar community.

"However, why did Sachin Pilot not make many visits? Questions were also being raised on Gehlot's absence from campaigning sites," a party worker said.

"Our PCC president Dotasra went to all seats except Jhunjhunu as he was not invited to campaign there. Internal frictions are responsible for losing our strong seats, Those Congress MPs who won LS polls gave tickets to our candidates, so they should be held responsible for their defeat," they added.