JAIPUR: The faction-ridden ruling Congress in Rajasthan was jolted in the local zila parishad polls, losing most of the 21 districts that voted. In the panchayat samiti and zila parishad polls held in four rounds in late November and early December, 21 of the total 33 districts in the state voted.
In a stark contrast to the trend of the ruling party in a state dominating local elections, the opposition BJP has done better.
In the zila parishads or district-level boards, it won 353 seats, compared to 252 of the Congress.
In panchayat samitis or block-level boards in villages, the BJP gained an edge winning 1,989 seats in 222 samitis where voting took place while the Congress managed only 1,852 seats.
Independents also won in large numbers, winning 439 panchayat samiti seats and 18 zila parishad seats. The results came amid the BJP-led Centre battling a massive farmer protest. The saffron party was quick to claim that the Rajasthan results as well as its recent electoral victories were a vindication of the party’s stand on farm laws.
“We are grateful to rural voters, farmers and women who have reposed their faith in us in Rajasthan’s panchayati raj and zila parishad polls,” tweeted BJP chief JP Nadda.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the victory showed that the people of Rajasthan are with the BJP.
“Not only Rajasthan, the results in Bihar, Telangana, Arunachal Pradesh, show that the entire nation is happy with the BJP and its reforms. Despite the Opposition attack on farm reforms, people are supporting the party and PM Modi,” he said.
Congress leaders attribute the party’s defeat to fissures in the state unit, especially the feud between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, whose revolt in July had nearly brought down the Congress government.
After Pilot was replaced by GS Dotasara as the state Congress chief, the party’s organisational structure was disbanded in most districts.
It was this lack of an effective organisational structure at district and panchayat levels which is reflected in the party’s poor performance.
The Congress lost in the home turf of its stalwarts such as Pilot and Dotasara and many ministers such as Ashok Chandana, Raghu Sharma, Udaylal Anjana and Sukhram Vishnoi.
These polls also reflect the growth of new parties such as the RLP and BTP.
The result also left CM Ashok Gehlot anguished as he said that the outcome was"not as expected" and accused the opposition of misleading voters.
He also said his government has been working hard to curb Covid-19 in the state for the last nine months but the Opposition was working overtime in rural areas to mislead voters through false propaganda.
"Our entire focus was on the Corona pandemic, due to which we could not promote properly our plans and government's actions. At the same time, the leaders of the Opposition visited rural areas and misled voters by false propaganda," Gehlot said in a statement.
He said the government's priority has been to save people's lives and livelihoods and strengthen the state's health infrastructure.
He said in the coming time, the party will take its feedback from people and convey its good governance and give a befitting reply to the opposition's propaganda.
Gehlot thanked voters and the Congress workers who, he said, strengthened democracy by participating in this election.
"I congratulate all the winning candidates. I am confident that all the people's representatives will succeed in public service," he said.
(With PTI Inputs)