From 1 to 13 seats: What explains BJP’s rise in 5 eastern Rajasthan districts?

Jaipur, Dec 3 (PTI) The BJP's assembly seat tally in five eastern Rajasthan districts went up from just one to 13, while the Congress' fell from 20 to eight.

The Congress had made the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) a poll issue in the region.

The BJP wrested power in Rajasthan on Sunday, winning 115 seats out of the 199 where assembly elections were held last week.

In the five districts of Bharatpur, Karauli, Sawai madhopur, Dholpur and Dausa in eastern Rajasthan, the party bagged 13 seats, while the Congress got eight and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and the BSP one each. An independent candidate also won.

In the outgoing assembly (2018-2023), the Congress has 20 members from these districts and the BJP and the RLD one each. There are two independent MLAs from the region.

ERCP, a project envisaged by the former BJP government led by Vasundhara Raje, is aimed at addressing drinking and irrigation water needs of 13 eastern Rajasthan districts, including the above-mentioned five.

The Congress government led by Ashok Gehlot had demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi declare ERCP a national project. Gehlot and other Congress leaders had accused the prime minister of not fulfilling his promise regarding the national project status to ECRP.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had launched the party's campaign on ERCP from Baran ahead of the assembly elections, whereas Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had addressed another rally in Dausa.

The BJP also gained seats in Mewar, Vagad, Marwar and other regions.

In Mewar and Vagad regions covering Udaipur, Rajsamand, Banswara, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh and Chittorgarh districts, the BJP won 17 out of 28 seats and the Congress secured seven seats.

The Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP), which contested elections in the state for the first time, secured three seats there and an independent candidate won.

In the 15th assembly (2018-2023), the Congress had 11 members from these regions, BJP 13, and BTP two. There was one independent MLA and one seat was vacant.

The Congress, which was hoping to buck the trend of the incumbent being voted out in the state every five years, bagged 68 seats across the state. The final result of only one seat was awaited and the Congress was leading by a narrow margin there.

Polling in 199 of the state's 200 seats were held on November 25. The election in Sriganganagar's Karanpur seat was postponed due to the death of the Congress candidate. PTI