Gehlot fails to keep flock together on home turf

Jodhpur: The BJP won 8 Assembly seats in Ashok Gehlot’s home district of Jodhpur, puring cold water over his efforts to win all the 10 seats in the district.Gehlot spent thousands of crores in the name of development in Jodhpur and visited frequently till the day of polling, but could not save 6 seats from slipping to the BJP side this election.He, however, succeeded in snatching Bhopalgarh seat from RLPs’ Pukhraj Garg, though he lost Jodhpur City, Luni, Bilara, Shergarh, Osian, and Lohawat. Divya Maderna lost Osian by a margin of 2,807 votes while Kisnaram Bishnoi lost Lohawat by 10,549 votes to the BJP’s Gajendra Singh Khinvsar.The losses can be attributed to Gehlot’s failure in keeping his flock together. In the run-up to the election, his close aides, like former mayor Rameshwar Dadhich, RIICO director Sunil Parihar, divisional spokesperson Ajay Trivedi, and many oldies parted ways with Gehlot.Gehlot’s pick for the Soorsagar seat also came as a major dampener, resented not only by party workers in Soorsagar but also by core voters of Congress. This was reflected in the huge margin of loss that Congress candidate Shehjad Khan suffered here.Gehlot’s old confidante Dadhich, who this time actively campaigned for Gehlot’s opponent in Sardarpura, BJP’s Mahendra Singh Rathore, proved to be a major reason behind the shrunk margin of Gehlot’s victory.“If you have bad civic conditions, overflowing drainage and sewerage, broken roads and poor traffic arranagements, despite the local MLA being the state’s chief minister, you can understand what he has done for his own city,” said Dadhich.Ajay Trivedi, who left the Congress and contested from Jodhpur City on RLP ticket, said that Gehlot had always liked ‘yes men’ around him and not those who dare to contradict him or give him any suggestion.

Rajasthan assembly election result: Ashok Gehlot wins Sardarpura seat by over 26,000 votes

Ashok Gehlot, Congress leader and Rajasthan chief minister, won the Sardarpura assembly seat by over 26,000 votes against BJP candidate Mahendra Singh Rathore. Gehlot secured 96,859 votes while Rathore got 70,463 votes. This win marks Gehlot's sixth time as MLA from Sardarpura. In addition, Aazad Samaj Party candidate Shaitan Singh and Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Dalpat Chouhan received 807 and 761 votes, respectively. Furthermore, 1,211 people from the constituency opted for NOTA. All five independent candidates received less than 200 votes. Gehlot's victory margin has steadily increased over the years, from 15,000 votes in 2008 to a historic high of 45,597 votes in 2018.

Rajasthan Polls: Ashok Gehlot leading from Sardarpura

Ashok Gehlot is leading in the Sardarpura seat with a margin of 5,759 votes, according to the Election Commission trends. He is pitted against BJP's Mahendra Singh Rathore. Mahendra Jeet Singh Malvia is leading in Bagidora seat with a margin of 9095 votes, and Tikaram Jully is leading in Alwar Rural seat with a margin of 4,878 votes. Minister Brijendra Ola of the Congress is leading on Jhunjhunu seat with a margin of 7,295 votes.

Will Pilot take off as Gehlot's ship sinks?

The Congress in Rajasthan was not annihilated like in 2013 when the BJP swept the state polls. The BJP manages to keep its head above water when the Congress loses. The Congress had hopes on Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, but it lost both states along with Chhattisgarh. Ashok Gehlot, the CM in Rajasthan, promoted his social schemes targeting women. Despite his schemes and identifiable leadership, Gehlot lost, while the BJP's no-nonsense attitude and Modi's leadership helped them overcome possible dissensions.