The ruling Congress on Tuesday posted victories by huge margins at both Assembly seats, Vallabhnagar and Dhariawad, in Rajasthan by-elections for which were held on October 30.
In a humiliating defeat, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was relegated to a distant third position in Dhariawad and fourth in Vallabhnagar.
Congress candidate Nagraj Meena defeated Thawarchand Damor, an Independent and tribal youth who had rebelled against Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), in Pratapgarh district’s Dhariawad by a margin of 18,725 votes. Khet Singh Meena (BJP), having a strong Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh background, was pushed to third position in this reserved constituency, which was represented by his party before the bypolls.
The by-elections at the two seats, falling in Udaipur division, were necessitated after the death of BJP MLA from Dhariawad, Gautam Lal Meena, and Congress MLA from Vallabhnagar, Gajendra Singh Shaktawat, who was a loyalist of former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot.
Polling was recorded at 71.72% in Vallabhnagar and 69.10% in Dhariawad.
Congress candidate Preeti Shaktawat, wife of Mr. Shaktawat, defeated her nearest rival, Udai Lal Dangi of Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), by a margin of 20,606 votes. While independent candidate Randhir Singh Bhindar, who had floated his Janata Sena after quitting the BJP, stood third, BJP’s Himmat Singh Jhala occupied fourth position after getting just 21,433 votes.
With Tuesday’s victory, the Congress has snatched a seat from the BJP and added it to its tally in the State Assembly, though the number of seats going to bypolls were not crucial for the government’s stability.
With this the number of Congress MLAs in the 200-member House has now increased to 108.
