The moustache, often associated with masculinity and respect in India, has now emerged as a symbol of electoral victory in Rajasthan. After a BJP candidate secured a win in the recent assembly by-polls, posters featuring moustaches emerged in various locations within the constituency.
According to PTI, the incident occurred in the Khimsar assembly constituency, a Jat-dominated seat in Nagaur district where BJP candidate Revant Ram Danga secured a victory over his closest rival, Kanika Beniwal of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party.
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To celebrate the BJP victory, numerous locations in Khimsar— including outside the residence of state health minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar in the Civil Lines area of Jaipur, were decorated with these moustache posters.
During the election campaign in the recently held assembly by-polls, state minister Khimsar had vowed to remove his moustache if BJP candidate Danga faced defeat. In the election, the prestige of Khimsar was at stake.
Khimsar is seen as a stronghold of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) and hence BJP's win in this constituency marks a remarkable electoral success for the saffron party.
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{{/usCountry}}Khimsar is seen as a stronghold of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) and hence BJP's win in this constituency marks a remarkable electoral success for the saffron party.
READ | BJP-led NDA wins bypolls 7-2, gets a boost for 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections
{{/usCountry}}After BJP's Danga registered a win on the seat, minister Gajendra Khimsar expressed gratitude to the voters for "respecting" his vow and also the moustache.
"I am thankful to the voters that they respected my vow. Me and my family have been serving them and will continue to do that," Khimsar was quoted as saying.
Khimsar assembly bypolls
In the Khimsar assembly by-polls, Revant Ram Danga of the BJP defeated his nearest rival Kanika Beniwal of the RLP candidate with a margin of 13,901 votes. Kanika is the wife of Hanuman Beniwal, a prominent leader in the constituency.
Hanuman Beniwal won the Khimsar seat in 2008 as a BJP candidate and as an Independent in the 2013 assembly elections. He formed the RLP and won this seat in the 2018 assembly elections.
The Jat leader won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Nagaur in alliance with the BJP and fielded his brother Narayan Beniwal in the assembly by-polls on Khimsar. Narayan Beniwal won the by-polls.