Rajasthan won't be a cakewalk for BJP

JAIPUR: Ruling party BJP, after its success in the Vidhan Sabha election, had been boastful and was sure of improving its 1999 tally of 16 LS seats.
But the exit poll results leave the party high and dry and even senior BJP leaders have started saying that if the party retains its 16 seats it would be a creditable achievement.
The campaigning in the state picked up only after the visit of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.BJP is spending lavishly on campaigning, while Congress candidates find themselves short of resources.
BJP is trying to save some seats which it won and these seats are Bayana (SC), Sawaimadhopur (ST), Sikar, Alwar, Churu and Jodhpur. Congress is tring to save Barmer, Bikaner, Nagaur and Udaipur seats. Yet the Congress is better placed than the BJP as far as the seats which it won in the last election are concerned. In Barmer, Union Minister Jaswant Singh’s son Manvendra Singh is challenging Col Sona Ram Choudhry.
The Jats which went against the Congress in the last election are a divided lot as the BJP, like Congress has fielded seven Jats. But the Jats fielded by Congress seem stronger.
The Muslims who were a little annoyed with the Congress because a large number of Muslims candidates fielded by the Congress lost, have, nevertheless, decided to stay with the Congress because of the pro Congress trend in UP.
The Congress has certainly improved its position and the individual strength of the candidates may help it improve its position, but the BJP certainly has an edge. In 25 seats, the Congress at the best could expect to win 11 seats, an improvement of two against BJP’s 14.