JAIPUR: In a major setback to the ruling BJP in Rajasthan, party candidate and minister Surendrapal Singh TT, suffered defeat in the Karanpur election to Congress candidate Rupendra Singh Kunnar by 11,261 votes. TT, who was appointed as a minister in the newly formed Bhajanlal government without being elected as an MLA, faced a significant blow, particularly coming just after the party’s victory in assembly polls.
Kunnar secured 94,761 votes, while TT trailed with 83,500 votes. The counting took place today at Bhimrao Ambedkar Government PG College after the polling on January 5. Although TT initially led in the first two rounds, he began falling behind from the third round onwards.
The Congress is celebrating the victory in the Karanpur assembly election, considering it a lifeline for the party. Rajasthan BJP has acknowledged the defeat, with State President CP Joshi stating that a review of the reasons for the loss will be conducted.
The outcome will determine whether TT will continue in the ministerial position. He assumed office just eight days ago and had not yet taken charge. It is noteworthy that TT, even before becoming an MLA, was appointed as a Minister of State in the BJP government, a move strongly opposed by the Congress, which complained to the Election Commission.
Congress State President Govind Singh Dotasara, who led the election campaign in Karanpur for the last four days, congratulated party workers on Rupinder Singh Kunnar’s victory. Dotasara took a swipe at BJP candidate TT’s defeat, describing BJP as the new ‘slip government’ and criticizing the party for changing the names of Congress schemes.
The poll in Srikaranpur assembly seat on November 25 was postponed due to the death of Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Kunnar. In Rajasthan’s 200 assembly seats, BJP won 115, Congress secured 70, BAP 3, BSP 2, RLD 1, RLP 1, and independents won 8 seats. This served as the first political test for BJP after formation of government.