Rajasthan bypolls a test for months-old Bhajanlal Sharma-led BJP govt

Jaipur: The upcoming Rajasthan Assembly bypolls will be a crucial test for the Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma-led BJP government, which will complete one year in office next month.

A month after Sharma assumed office in December last year, the BJP lost the Karanpur assembly seat.

In another embarrassment for the party, it lost 11 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the general elections. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, all seats had gone to the BJP.

These outcomes put a question mark on the performance of Sharma, a first-time MLA who was picked by the party high command over prominent leaders like Vasundhara Raje, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Diya Kumari and Kirodi Lal Meena.

The November 13 bypolls will also be the first test for Rajasthan BJP president Madan Rathore, who took over the party reins after the Lok Sabha election results were announced in June.

The seven seats going to polls in the state are Jhunjhunu, Dausa, Deoli-Uniara, Khinvsar, Chorasi, Salumber and Ramgarh. Of these, four are held by Congress while BJP, Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) hold one each.

The bypoll results will be announced on November 23.

As part of the poll campaign, Sharma and other BJP leaders addressed multiple rallies, talked about the work done by state and central governments, and targeted the Congress.

Addressing a rally in Khinvsar, Sharma claimed the BJP government had fulfilled 50 per cent of its poll promises within 10 months of coming to power.

"The Congress is a party of loot and lies. It did not fulfil any of its poll promises whereas we have fulfilled 50 per cent of the promises made in the election manifesto in just 10 months," he had said.

The remaining promises would also be fulfilled, he had said.

The chief minister said his government took action against paper leak "mafias" and put more than 200 accused behind bars. He also said his government was working in the interest of the farmers and took "historic" decisions regarding the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) and the Yamuna water agreement.

Rajasthan BJP president Rathore has claimed the BJP will win all seven seats in the bypolls.

"The BJP's victory on all seven seats in the bypolls will further strengthen the government. At the same time, it will increase the enthusiasm of the party workers," he had said during a visit to Salasar Balaji in Churu on Sunday.

"The youths of the country are placing their trust in the principles and policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi has not only bolstered the nation's internal and external security but has also enhanced India's standing on the global stage," he said.

On the other hand, Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra said the people of the state were "fed up" with the BJP and that there were multiple power centres in the state.

He also claimed that Sharma and cabinet minister Kirodi Lal Meena were not on talking terms for the last three months after the latter submitted his resignation. However, after the BJP fielded Meena's brother from Dausa, the minister was doing "Bharat Milap" with Sharma, the Congress leader claimed.

Meena resigned as minister after the BJP lost Lok Sabha seats in eastern Rajasthan. However, his resignation is yet to be accepted.

"The BJP is not concerned about electricity, water, providing fertilisers to farmers and building roads for people. It is only concerned about fulfilling its selfish interests," Dotasra said.

"Today the BJP government is talking about the ERCP, whereas the central government kept this project hanging for five years despite the promise of the prime minister. At that time, the Congress government got the work done on this project by spending more than Rs 10,000 crore," he said.

Dotasra also claimed the Congress would win all seven seats.

The Rajasthan bypolls were necessitated after two MLAs died and five were elected to the Lok Sabha.

Currently, the BJP has 114 members in the 200-seat assembly, Congress 65, Bharat Adivasi Party three, Bahujan Samaj Party two and Rashtriya Lok Dal one. There are eight Independent members.