Rajasthan Springs Surprise on BJP

Jaipur: The BJP’s tally of 25 Lok Sabha seats from the 2019 and 2014 general elections was significantly reduced, with the party winning just 14 seats in 2024. This turnaround comes just months after the BJP stormed to power in 2023 by defeating the Congress. I.N.D.I.A. bloc parties CPM, RLP, and BAP, supported by the Congress, were leading in one seat each. Rajasthan Minister Kirodi Lal Meena said he will quit to keep his promise if his party loses any of the seven seats under his responsibility.

BJP candidates who have been declared victorious are Arjun Ram Meghwal from Bikaner, Dushyant Singh from Jhalawar-Baran, Manju Sharma from Jaipur, Bhagirath Choudhary from Ajmer, Lumbaram from Jalore, Mahima Kumari Mewar from Rajsamand, Damodar Agarwal from Bhilwara and Manna Lal Rawat from Udaipur.

While Union minister Meghwal won by a margin of 55,711 votes, Dushyant Singh, son of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, won by 3,70,989 votes.

BJP candidate from Jaipur Manju Sharma defeated Congress nominee and former minister Pratap Singh Khachariawas by a margin of 3,31,767 votes.

The Jaipur Lok Sabha seat is considered a BJP stronghold.

Bhagirath Chaudhary, the sitting BJP MP from Ajmer, retained the seat by winning with a margin of 3,29,991 votes.

In the Jalore-Sirohi constituency, Lumbaram, a grassroots-level BJP worker, defeated former chief minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot by a margin of 2,01,543 votes.

In 2019, Vaibhav Gehlot contested his first Lok Sabha election as the Congress candidate from Jodhpur but lost to the BJP's Gajendra Singh Shekhawat by 2,74,440 votes.

As per the trends on the Election Commission website, Shekhawat is leading on the Jodhpur Lok Sabha seat.

In Rajsamand, the BJP's Mahima Kumari Mewar won by a margin of 3,92,223 votes. She is the member of erstwhile royal family of Mewar and her husband Vishvaraj Singh Mewar is the BJP MLA from the Nathdwara seat of Rajsamand district.

In Udaipur, BJP candidate Manna Lal Rawat defeated the Congress' Tarachand Meena by 2,61,608 votes.

Congress candidate Bhajan Lal Jatav won the Karauli-Dholpur seat with a margin of 98,945 votes, defeating his nearest rival Indu Devi of the BJP.

The Congress' INDIA bloc partner CPI(M) won the Sikar Lok Sabha seat where Amraram defeated the BJP's Sumedhanand Saraswati by 72,896 votes.

The BJP is now leading on six seats ?Jaipur Rural, Alwar, Pali, Jodhpur, Chittorgarh and Kota, while the Congress is leading on seven -- Ganganagar, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Bharatpur, Dausa, Tonk, Sawaimadhopur and Barmer.

The Rashtriya Loktantrik Party was leading in Nagaur and the Bharat Adivasi Party in Banswara.