Assembly elections 2023 Highlights: Rajasthan set to go for polls tomorrow

AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday expressed confidence that his party would win the assembly polls in the states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. "Election will be held in Rajasthan tomorrow. We are winning that. We are winning in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and also in Telangana," he said.

Polling will be held in 199 out of 200 constituencies from 7 am to 6 pm, while the counting of votes will be taken up on December 3.

Due to the death of the Congress candidate in Sriganganagar's Karanpur seat, Gurmeet Singh Koonar, who is also the sitting MLA, the election in this constituency has been adjourned.

A total of 5,26,90,146 voters will decide the fate of 1,875 candidates, including 183 female contestants, at a total of 51,507 polling stations in the assembly constituencies.

Among the constituencies, all eyes will be on Sardarpura, Tonk, Jhalarapatan, Nathdwara, Jhunjhunu, Jhotwara, and Churu among others.

Sardarpura is on the list of key constituencies as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has won this seat since 1998. The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Mahendra Singh Rathore from the Congress' bastion.

Amit Shah, who addressed an election rally at Armoor and later held roadshows, accused the chief minister of corruption to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees, and said KCR should not rest easy, thinking nothing would be done about it. "KCR, don't sleep soundly, your time is over," Shah said, adding, "Whatever scams were done, the BJP government will investigate and send those who indulged in corruption behind bars."

Meenakshi Lekhi told ANI, "BRS government is the government of the biggest liars and corrupt. It was TRS earlier. The actual branding is that of KCR. They may rebrand but everyone knows how they have looted and destroyed the state. Now, those who loot will go to jail and action will be taken against them."

She further said that it was times before that ED used to sit like a puppet. But now it has the liberty to go to places where there has been loot.

A day ahead of the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday exuded confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party will form its government.

"Voting is going to take place in Rajasthan tomorrow, and I have full faith that the state will get rid of a government that is corrupt, discriminates against the youth, and makes false promises. Lotus will bloom again there," Thakur said.

On Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's recent remarks on PM Modi, BJP MP and candidate from Vidhyadhar Nagar, Diya Kumari says, "This is very unfortunate that he is making such remarks. He is indulging in petty politics and saying immature things. In this time and era, nobody even likes to listen to such things. Prime Minister is a constitutional position. Saying such things for him is disgusting politics. Rahul Gandhi keeps doing such things. This too has been added to that list. I think he can stoop to any level. Leaders of that party can stoop to any level to form a government and get votes..."

Ahead of Rajasthan elections tomorrow, Lok Sabha Speaker and BJP MP from Kota, Om Birla said, "...This is a big opportunity when we will come together and democratically elect a government. We have the right to vote. All of us, the people of Rajasthan, must vote to decide the progress, development and direction of the state..."

On Telangana Assembly elections, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said to ANI, "It is very clear that Congress will get overwhelming victory in Telangana and form a govt on his own. The people will vote for change, and the change is going to be Congress."

Former Deputy Chief Minister of the state, Pilot in a video message which was posted by Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on X, urged people to elect the Congress government to the power to 'maintain the progress of the state'.

"Rajasthan Assembly elections are going to be held on November 25. We have conducted several campaigns in the run-up to the polls and the feedback and response from the public suggest that Congress is going to form the government in the state with full majority. The tradition of the alternate governance of BJP and Congress will change this time and once again people will vote for Congress," Pilot said.

Addressing a poll rally at Palakurthy, Priyanka Gandhi alleged that women faced violent crimes in Telangana and that the state government has not taken steps to ensure their safety. Vadra said the Congress party has a plan for Telangana and vision to strengthen the youth of the state to make them stand on their own feet. She also charged the state government with corruption and not living up to the expectation of the people. “Injustice is being meted out to youth, women, and farmers. The KCR government, which has been ruling for the past 10 years, is nearing its expiry date...” she said.

Hours before polling in Rajasthan, CM Ashok Gehlot in Jodhpur said to ANI, "They (BJP) were trying to topple our government. It is a sin to topple an elected government. The public will take revenge for this. There is an undercurrent in favour of Congress."

Speaking to ANI a day before Rajasthan polls for the Assembly in a single phase, CM Gehlot said, "There is a strong undercurrent in favour of the Congress in Rajasthan. I have sensed as much while campaigning across the state. There is a pro-incumbency wave. Villages that previously voted in favour of the BJP are now turning to the Congress after deriving the benefits of our schemes and policies. I believe that this undercurrent and pro-incumbency will ensure the victory of many of our candidates, who many felt might not win. If this undercurrent works in our favour, we will form the government."

The 200 assembly constituencies of Rajasthan are all set to cast their votes on Saturday after a high-decibel campaign by the parties that ended on Thursday with Congress focusing on the schemes of the Ashok Gehlot government, and BJP cornering the Congress on issues such as crime against women, appeasement, corruption and paper leak.

Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm in 199 out of 200 constituencies amid tight security arrangements.

The state with 51,756 polling stations comprises around 52,538,659 voters- of whom -27,358,965 are men and 25,179,694 are women. Around 2,220,913 are also all set to cast their votes this election. According to the election commission, 61,021 elderly and specially-abled people have already cast their votes through home voting, in the state's first attempt for such a facility.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in Telangana, "We have made a lot of promises. One of them is that the CM will be made from the backward class. We will end the Muslim reservation & give reservations to SC, ST & OBC. We have also promised vertical reservation to the Madiga community. We have also promised four gas cylinders free of cost in a year to the poor women of the state. We will form a committee & punish those who are responsible for corruption..."

ttacking the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led BRS government in Telangana over its alleged corruption and family rule, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said no one can make allegations of corruption in BJP-ruled states.

"After the BRS government was formed, corruption rose sharply in Telangana. You must be watching that there is an inquiry also going on against this government. There are corruption charges against his (KCR) family members,” he said, addressing an election meeting in Medchal.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "The way your papers are getting leaked these days, we want to roll out a job calendar to solve the issue. We will provide you 2 lakh jobs, the way we got it in Rajasthan and under the job calendar, it will get fixed that when your exam is held, when the results will get out and when the notice for the paper is going to be released. Students will get aid of ₹5 lakh and in every district, we want to make international level schools."

"Mai thansu dur nahi" (I am not far from you)- the most popular slogan of Jodhpur's 28-year-old King Hanwant Singh Rathore, won the hearts of the people across the Marwar in 1952, leading his new political party Akhil Bharatiya Ramrajya Parishad swiping around 30 out of 33 seats in the region in the very first state assembly poll post-independence.

In the same year, the Bikaner King Karni Singh Bahadur also stepped into the Parliament, winning the Bikaner constituency as an independent candidate.

Cooch Behar's princess of the Narayan dynasty and the queen of Jaipur Gayatri Devi, in 1962, also contested in the Lok Sabha election as a candidate of the Swatantra Party and remained a three-time MP from the seat.

Despite the royal families losing their ruling rights after the independence, Rajasthan- which has always been synonymous with the valourous tales of the blue blood in history- continued being strongly influenced by the erstwhile kings and queens in the modern democratic era.

According to a member of the Rajput organisation Pratap Foundation, Mahaveer Singh Sarvadi, "The association of the members of around 18 royal families of the state with the major political parties has always played a crucial role in the poll arena as most of them remained successful in building a pro-people image in society irrespective of any caste and community."

"I am feeling very proud after coming here. Particularly after seeing that a young, energetic woman candidate is contesting the election here," says Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi addressing an election rally in Palakurthy in Telangana.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the BJP, if elected to power, would investigate and send those who indulged in corruption behind bars.

Addressing an election rally at Armoor, he alleged that KCR indulged in corruption worth thousands of crores of rupees and that he should not feel nothing is going to happen about it.

"KCR indulged in scams worth thousands of crores. KCR feels nothing will happen. KCR, don't have sound sleep. Your time is over. Whatever scams that were done, the BJP government will investigate and send those who indulged in corruption behind bars," he said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "We all say 'state first' while BRS says 'family first'. I want to tell you all that if the BJP forms its government here, then it won't be 'family first', it will be 'Telangana First'."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, addressing an election rally in Telangana's Nizamabad, said, "In the last seven years, exam papers in six categories under TSPSC were leaked. We have decided that we will give jobs on merit to 2.5 lakh youth in Telangana. The accused in the paper leaks case will be put behind bars."

"Rahul Gandhi is frustrated and jealous. He thinks that only his family has the right to govern the country. He is sitting jobless since last one decade. He is facing a case for looting the country's assets. He has no words other than abusing the PM. This shows his feudal mindset. He is intolerant," Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.

“There is an undercurrent in Rajasthan. I can sense that there is a Congress wave in the state. Villages that supported BJP previously are now talking about the schemes that we launched,” Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot said ahead of the polling on November 25.

A total of 17 persons have been booked by Madhya Pradesh police for taking polling photos during the time when the state went to polls and sharing them on social media in Vidisha district.According to the FIR copy, the case was registered following the complaint of Additional Returning Officer (ARO) Sanjay Chourasia (48) at Sironj police station in the district on Wednesday evening (November 22) for violating the rules and regulations of the election commission. The case was registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 188 and section 128 of Representation of the People Act.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday shared a video post on X (formerly Twitter) of Congress leader Sachin Pilot urging people to vote for his party in the upcoming assembly election, putting to rest speculations of an intra-party dispute between both the senior leaders in the state. This comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, campaigning for the upcoming Rajasthan assembly election, took an indirect dig at both leaders referring to the power tussle between them. Read more