Rajasthan Election Result 2024 Lok Sabha Highlights: Dry spell for Congress ends with 8 seats; BJP secures victory on 14

There are 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in the Indian state of Rajasthan. These are Ganganagar, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Jaipur Rural, Jaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur, Dausa, Nagaur, Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Kota and Jhalawar-Baran.

Following the Election Commission’s directives, the state poll authority has implemented stringent security measures and appointed micro and counting observers at all centers.

In Churu, the Congress fielded Rahul Kaswan, a two-time BJP MP who switched allegiance following differences with senior party leader Rajendra Rathore, against the BJP’s Devendra Jhajhadia, a Paralympic gold medallist.

Union minister Meghwal contested against Congress candidate and former minister Govind Ram Meghwal in Bikaner.

In Nagaur, a significant showdown unfolded between two prominent Jat leaders, Congress ally Hanuman Beniwal of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party and the BJP‘s Jyoti Mirdha, a former Congress MP.

In the Barmer constituency, Independent candidate Ravindra Singh Bhati challenged both the BJP and the Congress candidates. The BJP had fielded Union minister Kailash Chaudhary from this seat.

The Lok Sabha seat of Jodhpur witnessed a contest between a fresh face from Congress Karan Singh Uchiyarda, who is also considered a Sachin Pilot loyalist, and Union Water Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. In Lok Sabha elections of 2019, Shekhawat won with 7,81,166 votes. The runner up in the last general election was former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot. Shekhawat also won from the seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

In Kota, BJP leader Om Birla faced a direct competition with the Congress candidate Prahlad Gunjal. In the 2019 general elections, Birla won for the second consecutive time with 7,96,071 votes. The runner up in 2019 was Congress’ Ramnarain Meena. The victory margin between the candidates was of 2,78,512 votes.

Seats like Kota, Jalore, Sikar, Nagaur, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Tonk-Sawaimadhopur, Barmer, Banswara and Jodhpur have become focal points of intense competition.

Rajasthan experienced intense electoral battles in about 10 seats. Congress formed alliances with the CPI(M) in Sikar and the RLP in Nagaur, while backing the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) in Banswara-Dungarpur. BJP, on the other hand, contested all 25 seats independently.

Amid the heightened anticipation driven by the exit polls, Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra expressed confidence in winning 12 to 13 seats, including Bharatpur, the hometown of Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma.

Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said the votes will be counted at 29 designated centres under strict security measures.

In May 2019, five months after losing the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, BJP made a remarkable comeback, securing all 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state along with its allies. The Congress, on the other hand, ended up drawing a blank, same as in 2014.

The BJP not only increased its vote share in Rajasthan but also performed exceptionally well in areas where it had been defeated by the Congress in the state elections. Of the 25 NDA candidates, 20 candidates improved their winning margins compared to the 2014 Lok Sabha election results.

According to information on the Election Commission’s website, the BJP received a vote share of 58.47 percent in 2019, an increase from the 54.94 percent vote share the party had in 2014.