Rajasthan conducted three by-polls on Monday for two Lok Sabha constituencies and one assembly constituency. Ajmer, Alwar Lok Sabha and Mandalgarh assembly conducted the by-polls necessitated by the deaths of Sanwarlal Jat, Mahant Chand Nath Yogi and Kirti Kumari respectively. Counting for the Monday cast votes began on Thursday morning at 8 am.
Morning Session
For the better part of the morning, Congress maintained a lead in Ajmer and Alwar Lok Sabha while BJP had its candidate lead in Mandalgarh constituency. In Ajmer Lok Sabha, Raghu Sharma from Congress led Ram Lamba, the BJP contender with over 8,400 votes. Raghu had a firm ground in Ajmer’s initial round of voting. Alwar was the same case for Congress. Their contender, Singh Yadav led with 10,000 votes against Jaswant Singh Yadav from BJP.
The case was different for Congress in Mandalgarh. Congress’s candidate Vivek Dhakad trailed behind BJP’s Shakti Singh Hada who was leading with about 4,000 votes. The by-poll exercises attracted a total of 42 contenders.
Midday Session
As results continued to stream in, it was clear for Congress party members that their candidates will win the two Lok Sabha seats; Ajmer and Alwar. Therefore, the party members began early celebrations. Congress party leader and former chief minister, Ashok Gehlot declared that the by-poll win is a vote against BJP’s divisive form of politics. He said this even before the Electoral Commission formally announced the results. Ashok boasted that the results are an indication of what is to happen in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The results were a bit shaky as both parties seemed to take the lead from time to time. By noon it was evident that Congress began to lead in all the three seats.
Results in the Afternoon
Results took a different toll in the afternoon. Raghu Sharma of Congress party took the lead for Ajmer with 2,26,832 votes while his rival from the BJP, Ram Swaroop Lamba trailed him with 1,84,247 votes. The case was the same for Congress in Alwar Lok Sabha. Karan Singh Yadav took the lead with 71,576 votes. Although not certain, Congress also established a narrow lead in Mandalgarh when Vivek had garnered 55,782 votes to lead his rival by 3,282 votes.
In a different development, the BJP did not bag the West Bengal seats. It is claimed that they did not even manage to make a dent in the vote. Trinamool garnered the Noapara polls outwitting the divisive BJP.
