The Modi wave powered Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje’s ‘Mission 25’ as the party won all 25 Lok Sabha seats, its best-ever performance in the state. The last time a party won 25 seats was after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984 when the Congress swept the state.
Congress’s Mahesh Joshi lost the Jaipur seat to BJP’s Ramcharan Bohara by a record 5,39,345 votes. The party’s Chandresh Kumari lost the Jodhpur seat to BJP’s Gajendrasingh Shekhawat by 4,10,051 votes and state Congress president Sachin Pilot lost Ajmer to BJP’s Sanwar Lal Jat by 1,71,983 votes. The party’s candidate from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur Mohammed Azharuddin lost to Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria of the BJP by 1,35,311 votes. Rebel BJP candidate Jaswant Singh lost the Barmer seat to Col Sonaram of the BJP by 87,461 votes. A dejected Singh refused to speak to the media after the result.
Addressing jubilant party workers, Raje said, “Its people’s trust and support that has been instrumental in this win. There is no one in opposition today. Every citizen belongs to our party. We will stand up to our commitments not only in Rajasthan but across the country. We will all see a new dawn.”
Congress chief Sachin Pilot said, “I take moral responsibility for the defeat. The verdict is against UPA and Congress. We will work to rebuild the party.”
{{/usCountry}}Congress chief Sachin Pilot said, “I take moral responsibility for the defeat. The verdict is against UPA and Congress. We will work to rebuild the party.”
{{/usCountry}}Apart from the Modi factor, ticket distribution by Raje worked in favour of the BJP. She chose candidates carefully and gambled, as some felt, on Barmer and Dausa seats. In the end, the BJP won. In seats like Barmer, Dausa, Dholpur-Karauli, Nagaur and Bharatpur, where BJP expected close contests, caste equations worked in favour of the party. In Sikar and Alwar, where she differed with the central leadership on candidates, the Modi factor helped.