Congress Takes Back Rajasthan From Raje’s BJP, Wins 99 Seats

The Congress sealed its comeback victory in the desert state by winning 99 seats, while BJP secured 73 seats.

Congratulating the Congress on winning Rajasthan, incumbent chief minister Vasundhara Raje handed over her resignation to Governor Kalyan Singh on Tuesday, 11 December.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi will take the final call on Wednesday, 12 December, on who will be the chief minister in Rajasthan after taking into account the opinion of the newly elected MLAs.

The fight for the control of the 200-member Assembly was between the Raje-led BJP and the Congress spearheaded by Gehlot and Pilot.

Find the updates from the Rajasthan elections 2018 exit poll here.

VASUNDHARA RAJE

The election, which is seen as a do-or-die situation for Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, will also decide her fate within the BJP.

ASHOK GEHLOT

Two time-CM Ashok Gehlot is not only an experienced administrator, but also enjoys a loyal vote-base. He has the ability to swing sections of the OBC vote towards the Congress.

SACHIN PILOT

Sachin Pilot, the son of former Dausa strongman Rajesh Pilot, is perhaps the most likely choice for the Congress' CM candidate. It will be interesting to see how things unfold for Pilot, with the BJP pitting its only Muslim candidate against the Congress leader in the Muslim-dominated seat of Tonk.

In Rajasthan, the BJP is fighting anti-incumbency to retain power. The state has never elected a government for two consecutive terms in the last 25 years.

Most exit polls have predicted a clear majority for the Congress over the BJP.

The counting of votes for 199 seats in the Rajasthan Assembly has begun. The key constituencies to watch out for are Jhalrapatan (Vasundhara Raje vs Manvendra Singh), Tonk (Sachin Pilot vs Yoonus Khan) and Sardarpura (Ashok Gehlot’s constituency).

With the counting of votes having begun, Congress workers on Tuesday, 11 December, performed a 'havan' outside Rahul Gandhi's residence in Delhi.

The BJP is leading in two seats in the Rajasthan Assembly. Here are the latest trends:

• BJP - 2
• Cong+ - 0
• Others - 0

• BJP - 4
• Cong+ - 3
• Others - 0

According to latest trends, Congress leader Sachin Pilot is leading in Tonk constituency over BJP candidate Yoonus Khan.

According to the latest trends, incumbent Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is leading in Jhalrapatan constituency, where she is squaring off against Manvendra Singh.

According to the official ECI trends, the Congress is leading in 7 seats and the BJP in 6 currently.

A worker at the Congress headquarters in Delhi told The Quint that there is a mood of celebration among the party workers. He expressed confidence that the party will get a majority in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje is leading by 4,055 votes in Jhalrapatan constituency, where she is up against former BJP leader Manvendra Singh.

Rajasthan's Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria is trailing in Udaipur by a margin of 330 votes.

Rajasthan Environment Minister Gajendra Singh is trailing by a margin of 1,375 votes in Lohawat.

Meanwhile, the state's Cooperative Minister Ajay Singh is trailing by a margin of 1,311 votes in the Degana seat.

The other ministers who are trailing are – state Social Justice Minister Arun Chaturvedi (Civil Lines), Water Resources Minister Rampratap (Hanumangarh), Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini (Anta), UDH Minister Srichand Kriplani (Nimahera), Gaupalan Minister Otaram Devasi (Sirohi seat) and Health Minister Kalicharan (Malvia Nagar). Barmer MP Sonaram is also trailing.

Congress candidate and discus throw gold medallist in the 2010 Commonwealth Games Krishna Poonia is leading in the Sadulpur constituency by 646 votes.

Panchayati Raj Minister Rajendra Rathore is leading in Churu with a margin of 1,157 votes, reported PTI.

The BJP MP from Barmer, Sonaram, is trailing, while party candidate and Assembly Speaker Kailash Meghwal is leading by 3,411 votes in Bhilwara's Shahpura seat.

Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said on Tuesday, 11 December, that he was confident that his party will form the government in Rajasthan and decision on the chief minister's post will be taken by Rahul Gandhi.

He also credited Gandhi for the party's good performance in all the five states, including Rajasthan, reported PTI.

Asked who will be CM, he said it will be decided by the party MLAs and the Congress president.

Gehlot said Gandhi raised key issues concerning the people because of which Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "graph came down".

He also said that Gandhi first cornered Modi and Amit Shah in Gujarat and played issue-based politics.

The senior Congress leader said the Congress benefitted as Gandhi raised issues concerning price rise, farmers, the Rafale issue on which Modi and the BJP did not have answers.

Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot exuded confidence that the party will form the government in the state, and said that Rahul Gandhi as well as the party MLAs will decide on who will be the chief minister.

He said the Congress was marching towards victory in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh and the trend would continue in the future in the rest of India, reported PTI.

Asserting that it is a decisive day today, Pilot recalled that exactly a year ago, Gandhi became the president of the party.

"What could be a better gift to him than victory in these states," Pilot said.

With the BJP trailing behind the Congress in Rajasthan, incumbent Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje refused to comment on the developments of the day.

“Let the results come, no comments,” she said.

Gulab Chand Kataria, the home minister in the BJP government in Rajasthan, is trailing to Congress' Girija Vyas by a margin of 1,666 votes in the Udaipur constituency.

With the Congress leading in Rajasthan but not above the majority mark till now, Sachin Pilot is said to be in talks with eight independents, ANI reported citing sources.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said the Congress would want independent candidates and parties other than BJP to support the party if they want.

The result has been officially declared for the first constituency in Rajasthan – Pindwara abu – from where Sama Ram Grasiya of the BJP has won by a margin 26,974 votes over the Congress candidate.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot is leading in the Tonk constituency by a wide margin. While Pilot has secured 76,440 votes so far, Yoonus Khan trails behind with 42,033 votes.

Speaking to the media as the counting continues in Rajasthan, Congress leader Sachin Pilot said:

According to the Election Commission of India, At 3.45 pm, both BJP and Congress have won 4 seats each and BSP has secured 1.

Newly elected Congress MLAs of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan will meet in Raipur and Jaipur respectively on 11 December.

Rajasthan's Gaupalan Minister Otaram has lost the Sirohi seat to independent candidate Sanyam Lodha with a margin of 10,253 votes. Lodha is a Congress rebel.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “There are many reasons behind BJP's defeat, proud of being in power and misuse of democratic institutions are some. People from all strata of society are against BJP. This is a disaster for them.”

She added, “This is the semi-final of the final match as 2019 elections will be held in next 2-3 months. For 2019 final match game is clear, now we are just waiting for the elections. The countdown for 2019 has begun. This is the beginning of the end.”

Rajasthan's Water Resources Minister and BJP leader Rampratap has lost the Hanumangarh seat to Congress candidate Vinod Kumar with a margin of 15,522 votes.

Congress workers burst crackers, danced to the dhol and played with gulal as they celebrated the party's good show in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Carrying the Congress flag, a large number of workers gathered at the party headquarters in Delhi and praised Rahul Gandhi's leadership in steering the Congress towards victory in the three states ruled by the BJP.

Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Kailash Meghwal registered a thumping victory in the state polls by defeating his nearest rival with a record 74,542 votes.

The five-time MLA defeated Congress candidate Mahaveer Prasad from Shahpura seat of Bhilwara constituency.

Meghwal (84) was pitted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the second time from Shahpura seat. He had won the 2013 Assembly election by a margin of 43,666 votes.

The Congress is likely to go for a post-poll alliance in Rajasthan, where it is approaching the majority mark, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot said on Tuesday.

Gehlot indicated towards assembling an alliance by taking along willing parties and the candidates who have parted ways with the BJP.

The Congress has contested the Assembly elections with a pre-poll alliance on a total of five seats – Mundawar and Kushalgarh (with Loktantrik Janta Dal (LJD); Bharatpur and Malpura (with Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD); and Bali (with NCP).

"The Congress will form the government. This is the mandate of public, which is in favour of the Congress party. We will get a clear majority and will also take along other parties or candidates who quit the BJP," Gehlot told reporters as trends indicated a victory for his party.

AICC general secretary KC Venugopal told reporters, at a press conference in Jaipur, “Tomorrow morning there‘ll be a CLP meeting after that we will seek views of MLAs and senior leaders then we will apprise the situation to Congress President. As per party customs, president will take the final decision on the leadership issue.”

Congress president Rahul Gandhi will take the final call Wednesday on who will be the chief minister in Rajasthan after taking into account the opinion of the newly elected MLAs, a senior party leader said.

Senior party leader Ashok Gehlot and Pradesh Congress Committee president Sachin Pilot are the contenders for the coveted post.

"Congress legislature party (CLP) meeting will be held at 11 am on Wednesday in which the elected MLAs of the party will pass a resolution. The observer will seek individual opinion of the MLAs," AICC general secretary Avinash Pande said.

The Congress hailed its good showing in Assembly polls in three Hindi heartland states and thanked people for choosing "love over hate".

The Congress appeared set to wrest Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from the BJP, which was trailing marginally in Madhya Pradesh in a cliffhanger.

"Democracy has won! Thank you India, you have chosen love over hate, peace over violence & truth over lies. This victory is yours," read a tweet on the party's official Twitter handle, with the hashtag 'CongressWinsBIG'.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on 11 December night handed over her resignation to Governor Kalyan Singh.

While speaking to reporters, she said, “I would like to congratulate Congress. I accept this mandate by the people. BJP has worked a lot for them in these 5 years, I hope the next party takes those policies and works forward.”

Election Commission’s formal notification of result confirmed Congress’ victory in Rajasthan with 99 seats on Wednesday, 12 December. Securing second spot in the race, BJP has won 73 seats in Rajasthan.