The Congress outshined the BJP in the bitterly contested panchayat polls in Rajasthan’s six districts with the former security majority in four of six Lila parishad and bagging 670 out of the 1,564 panchayat samiti seats.
The Congress has secured majority in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Sawai Madhopur, Dausa, while the BJP gained majority in Sirohi Zila Parishad. The BJP also emerged as the single largest party in Bharatpur Zila Parishad but fell short of a clear majority. Independents and BSP members will play a crucial role in the formation of the zila parishad board in Bharatpur.
Out of the 200 zila parishad seats in these six districts, the Congress won in 99, the BJP in 90 and the BSP in three seats. Eight Independents emerged victorious in zila parishad seats.
Of the 37 seats in Bharatpur Zila Parishad, 17 went to the BJP, 14 to the Congress, four to Independents and two to the BSP. Of the total 1,564 seats in 78 panchayat samiti in six districts, results of 1,562 have been declared.
The Congress has won 670 seats, the BJP 551, the RLP 40 and the BSP 11. As many as 290 panchayat samiti seats have been won by Independents.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot congratulated the winners and thanked voters for making the Congress party victorious in the elections. “I express my gratitude to all the voters for getting the Congress victory in the results of panchayat samiti and zila parishad elections held in six districts. Many congratulations to all the winning candidates and Congress workers,” he tweeted.
The polling was held on August 26, 29 and September 1 in Bharatpur, Dausa, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Sawai Madhopur and Sirohi districts. The election for pramukh and pradhan will be held on September 6, while that for up-pramukh and up-pradhan will be held on September 7.
Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra described the results as encouraging for his party and a setback for the opposition BJP. “The Congress party has won the elections with an overwhelming majority. Out of 1,562 wards of panchayat samiti, 670 Congress candidates were victorious. In Bharatpur, 171 candidates of Congress ideology who contested the election without party symbol were the winners, he said.
He said the Congress would have its Pradhan in 60 of the 78 panchayat samiti where the election was held. He claimed that the BJP could barely get majority in only 14 panchayat samiti.
Dotasara said the results were a validation of the work done by the Congress government led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. He said that the party would leave no stone unturned in the development of Rajasthan.
BJP state president Satish Poonia congratulated his party candidates who won the elections. In a tweet, he thanked the people for supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party in the elections and the party workers for their hard work. “Hearty congratulations to the candidates who won the Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections, he added.
RLP convener and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal also thanked the voters who voted in favour of his party.
