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Rajasthan Assembly Elections 2018 results: Congress wins; Vasundhara Raje resigns as CM

Vasundhara Raje, the incumbent Chief Minister of Rajasthan, on Tuesday resigned from her post taking moral responsibility of her party's defeat at the hands of Congress in the hard-fought assembly elections 2018 in Rajasthan the results of which were announced today. She also expressed hope that the new government will work in the best interest of people of Rajasthan. Newly-elected Congress MLAs will meet on Wednesday to take a decision on who will be the next chief minister of Rajasthan.

JAIPUR: Vasundhara Raje, the incumbent Chief Minister of Rajasthan, on Tuesday resigned from her post taking moral responsibility of her party's defeat at the hands of Congress in the hard-fought assembly elections 2018 in Rajasthan. She also expressed hope that the new government will work in the best interest of people of Rajasthan. Newly-elected Congress MLAs will meet on Wednesday to take a decision on who will be the next chief minister of Rajasthan. Earlier, Rashtriya Lok Dal extended support to Congress to form the next government in Rajasthan where assembly elections 2018 were held on December 7. National vice president of the RLD Jayant Chaudhary issued a letter of support to Congress "respecting the mandate of the people in Rajasthan.'' After the party's impressive show in Rajasthan Assembly Elections 2018, the Congress party initiated talks with Independents and like-minded parties seeking their support. Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said that the party has invited the winning Independent candidates to join them in process of government formation. Congress party has comfortably crossed the half-way mark after taking a massive lead in Rajasthan since the counting of votes for December 7 assembly elections 2018 began for 199 out of 200 seats amid unprecedented security on Tuesday.

MUST READ: List of Rajasthan Assembly Election 2018 winners and MLAs 

When quizzed to comment who will be the next chief minister of Rajasthan, Gehlot said that the final call in this regard will be taken by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. Earlier, Congress state unit chief Sachin Pilot said that the results are a gift for party president Rahul Gandhi. By sweeping the crucial elections in Rajasthan, the Grand Old Party, which fought assembly elections under the leadership of former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and its state unit chief Sachin Pilot, has shattered BJP leader and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's dream of securing a second consecutive term in office. A strong ''anti-incumbency'' wave against the Vashundhra Raje government and the growing disenchantment among the Rajputs and Jats towards the ruling party is believed to have played a spoilsport for the BJP in Rajasthan. Meanwhile, widespread celebrations have begun in the Congress camp with the party workers bursting crackers and distributing sweets in parts of Rajasthan and in other states.

As per the latest trends, Congress is said to be currently leading in 101 out of 199 seats, while BJP is ahead in 72, BSP 6, Independents 20. 

Here are some of the notable winners in Rajasthan Assembly Elections 2018: Sachin Pilot (Congress) Tonk, Vasundhara Raje (BJP) Jhalrapatan, Suresh rawat (BJP) Pushkar, Govind Ram (Congress) Khajuwala (SC), Pratap Singh Khachariyavas (INC) Civil Lines,  Zahida Khan (INC) Kaman, Vasudev Devnani (BJP) Ajmer North, Rakesh Pareek  (INC) Masuda, Shobha Chauhan (BJP) Sojat (SC), Rooparam (INC) Jaisalmer, Shale Mohammad (INC) Pokaran, Ashok Gehlot (Congress) Sardarpura, Madan Prajapat (INC) Pachpadra, Chhagansingh (BJP) Ahore, Jogeshwar Garg (BJP) Jalore (SC), Pooraram Choudhary (BJP) Bhinmal, Sukhram (INC) Sanchore, Sanyam Lodha (IND) Sirohi, Sama Ram Grasiya (BJP) Pindwara Abu (ST), Jagasi Ram (BJP) Reodar, Dharmnarayan Joshi (BJP) Mavli.

Whichever party - BJP or Congress - finally wins in Rajasthan, the outcome of the keenly-contested December 7 assembly elections 2018 will surely impact the fast-approaching Lok Sabha elections in 2019, say political observers. 

A political party or bloc needs 101 seats to establish a majority in the 200-seat state assembly. Polling in Alwar district’s Ramgarh was postponed due to the death of BSP candidate Laxman Singh. Polling in Ramgarh will be held later. 

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Here are the highlights:-

# Thank you for joining us for the live updates.

# As assembly elections in Rajasthan concluded, Congress won 99 seats while BJP managed to bag 73 seats. BSP won on 6 seats, CPM got 2 seats and 19 seats were bagged by others.

# Here's the current status and party-wise standing as of now.

  

# I would like to congratulate Congress. I accept this mandate by the people. BJP has worked a lot for them in these 5 years, I hope the next party takes those policies and works forward: Raje. 

# Raje met the state's Governor and handed over her resignation to him, accepting moral responsibility for her party's defeat.  

# Vasundhara Raje resigned as chief minister after her party - BJP  - was decimated in the crucial assembly elections in Rajasthan. READ FULL STORY 

# Earlier, people believed that PM Modi would fight corruption, but now people have realised that the Prime Minister is himself involved in corruption. It can't be denied that corruption took place on the Rafale issue, says Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

# On the issue of EVMs, Rahul Gandhi said, ''The issue of EVM is not there just in India, it is a universal issue. If the people are not satisfied with the functioning of EVMs, it needs to be looked into.'' 

# The Opposition is strongly and uniformly united, we will fight the BJP unitedly, says Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

# There will be no trouble in selecting the chief ministers, it will happen smoothly, says Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

# We are going to provide these states a vision. We are going to provide these states a govt that they can be proud of: Congress chief

# This is a victory of Congress workers, small traders, farmers. This is a big responsibility for Congress party and we will work on this: Rahul Gandhi 

This is a grand victory. We're forming govt in 3 states what can be better than that. The way Rahul Gandhi ji tackled Modi ji &Amit Shah ji in Gujarat, after that graph of Congress is going up and the graph of Modi ji is constantly going down. It's a good sign: Ashok Gehlot, Congress.

# Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot and Congress leaders congratulate each other in Jaipur. Congress party has won 46 seats in the state and is leading on 51 seats so far, reports ANI. 

# On Wednesday, there‘ll be a CLP meeting after that we will seek views of MLAs and senior leaders then we will apprise the situation to Congress president. As per party customs president will take the final decision on the leadership issue: KC Venugopal, Congress.

Tomorrow, there's a meeting with all elected MLAs at the state Congress committee office, after that, Venugopal Ji and I will meet them personally. After it, the High command will be told of all the MLAs opinion & in the evening another meeting will be held: Avinash Pandey, Congress.

# State Transport Minister Yoonus Khan, BJP's only Muslim candidate in Rajasthan, lost to Congress' Sachin Pilot in Tonk. Khaan was the BJP legislator from Deedwana seat of Nagaur district. READ FULL STORY

# There will be a CLP meeting on Wednesday wherein a decision would be taken on the next Rajasthan chief minister. Thereafter, the same will be communicated to the Congress president and a final decision will be taken by Rahul Gandhi, says Congress.

Congress' winning candidate Dr Raghu Sharma hugs losing BJP rival in Kekri assembly constituency in Rajasthan. READ 

# Wikipedia projects Sachin Pilot as 'Rajasthan CM' even before the official declaration of assembly election results READ

# Visuals of Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot and other Congress leaders flashing the victory sign in Jaipur. Congress has so far won 12 seats and is leading on 89 seats in the state.

# National vice president of the RLD Jayant Chaudhary issues a letter, states "Respecting the mandate of the people, party President Chaudhary Ajit Singh has directed the MLA of the party to help Congress form a stable govt."

# Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) extends support to Congress in Rajasthan, reports ANI.

Congress party president Rahul Gandhi is expected to hold a press conference at 4:30 PM on Assembly Election Results 2018 in five states, say reports

# Newly elected Congress MLAs of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan will meet in Raipur and Jaipur respectively on Wednesday, reports ANI. 

# Minister of State in Vasundhara Government Banshidhar Bajia is trailing by 6906 votes against his nearest rival of INC former central minister Mahadev Singh Khandela in Khandela seat, reports AIR.

# Some more winners: Madan Prajapat (INC) Pachpadra, Chhagansingh (BJP) Ahore, Jogeshwar Garg (BJP) Jalore (SC), Pooraram Choudhary (BJP) Bhinmal, Sukhram (INC) Sanchore, Sanyam Lodha (IND) Sirohi, Sama Ram Grasiya (BJP) Pindwara Abu (ST), Jagasi Ram (BJP) Reodar, Dharmnarayan Joshi (BJP) Mavli.

# Notable winners in Rajasthan Assembly Elections 2018: Sachin Pilot (Congress) Tonk, Vasundhara Raje (BJP) Jhalrapatan, Suresh Rawat (BJP) Pushkar, Govind Ram (Congress) Khajuwala (SC), Pratap Singh Khachariyavas (INC) Civil Lines, Zahida Khan (INC) Kaman, Vasudev Devnani (BJP) Ajmer North, Rakesh Pareek  (INC) Masuda, Shobha Chauhan (BJP) Sojat (SC), Rooparam (INC) Jaisalmer, Shale Mohammad (INC) Pokaran.

# Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot (Congress) has won from Sardarpura.

# Sachin Pilot (Congress) has won from Tonk.

Sacin Pilot wins from Tonk

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has won from Jhalrapatan seat, beating Congress candidate Manvendra Singh, an MLA from Sheo in Barmer district.

I knew we would lose in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh but MP trends have come as a surprise. I think we forgot the issue of development that Modi took up in 2014. Ram Mandir, statues and name changing became the focus: Sanjay Kakade, BJP Rajya Sabha MP.

# Official ECI updates: Congress leading on 100 seats, BJP on 73 seats, BSP 5, CPM 2 and others on 19 in Rajasthan.

# Samaram Garasia of BJP has won the Pindwara-Abu seat by defeating his nearest rival of INC Lalaram by a margin of 26974 votes in Rajasthan.

# Congress president Rahul Gandhi has reached Sonia Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence, reports ANI.  

# 1.45 PM: Trends available for all 119 seats; Congress leading on 98, BJP 76, BSP 4, Independents 21. 

# BJP's wrong policies have destroyed the country and this is a result of that. Any talk of an alliance will be done once the whole picture is clear: SP leader Ramgopal Yadav on Assembly Election Results coming from five states. 

# We are moving towards a full majority and I am sure it will be clear once final numbers are in, but still we welcome all like-minded and anti-BJP parties to support us and we are in touch. Sachin Pilot, Congress:

# Meanwhile, news agency ANI reports, PCC chief leader Sachin Pilot has initiated talks with eight independent candidates in Rajasthan.

# Congress benefitted as Rahul Gandhi raised issues concerning price rise, farmers, the Rafale issue on which PM Modi and the BJP have no answers, says Gehlot

# Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot credits Rahul Gandhi for the party's impressive show in all the five states, including Rajasthan. 

# I won't say these are victories of Congress but this is an anger of the people. Self-reflection is needed: Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena.

# Congress has won the mandate. Numbers can go up and down but the public's mandate is in the favour of Congress. We will get a clear majority, still, we would want independent candidates and parties other than BJP to support us if they want: Ashok Gehlot

"The outcome of state assembly elections will have no bearing on 2019 Lok Sabha polls. We will do our internal analysis once the results are declared," says UP Dpeuty Deputyesh Sharma.  

# Women and Child Development minister Anita Bhadel is leading by 493 votes on Ajmer South( SC) seat against her nearest rival of INC Hemant Bhatt, reports AIR.  

# Congress president Rahul Gandhi will take a call on the next Chief Minister of Rajasthan: Ashok Gehlot.

# LED screens have been installed at different places across the state to display trends and results of Rajasthan Assembly Elections. 

# Among major candidates, Education Minister Vasudev Devnani is leading by 1183 votes against nearest rival of INC Mahendra Singh Ralawta on Ajmer North seat, Speaker of state assembly Kailash Chandra Meghwal is leading by about 14000 votes in Shahpura ( SC) seat, PCC chief Sachin Pilot is leading by 8822 votes against Transport Minister Yunus Khan in Tonk, Environment Minister Gajendra Singh is trailing by a margin of 1,375 votes in Lohawat, reported PTI.

# Mayor of Jaipur Ashok Lahoty of BJP is leading by 1163 votes in a triangular contest on Sanganer seat of Jaipur. Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Dr Arun Chaturvdi trailing behind of Pratap Singh Khachariawas of INC in Civil Lines constituency of Jaipur. Health Minister Kali Charan Saraf is leading by 1801 votes against Dr Archana Sharma at Malviya Nagar seat of Jaipur after the 4th round of counting, as per AIR.

## Independent candidate from Sirohi seat Sanyam Lodha is leading by 3774 votes after the 4th round of counting, Independent candidate from Dudu (SC) seat Babu Lal Nagar is leading by 563 votes after the second round of counting.   

# READ: Rajasthan assembly elections 2018: In Congress' celebrations, a factional divide brews

# Rahul Gandhi became party president exactly a year ago this day, so this result is a gift for him. Congress will form Govt in three states: Pilot 

# We all worked together, no one person can take credit for this result. I want to thank Rahul Gandhi Ji and also party workers: Sachin Pilot

# BJP troubled the people of Rajasthan and this result is an outcome of that. People of Rajasthan have clearly rejected BJP here: Sachin Pilot.

# ''We should wait till the final results are declared but it is almost certain that Congress is coming to power in Rajasthan with full majority. We won 21 seats last time but things have changed now,'' Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot.

# Official ECI trends: Congress is leading on 91 seats, BJP leading on 71 seats, others on 22 seats in Rajasthan. 

# While the mood is jubilant in Congress camp, BJP office in Rajasthan looks deserted after trends showed the Grand Old Party making an impressive comeback in the state.    

# Here are some more visuals of celebrations by Congress workers in parts of Rajasthan.  

# Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reacts to Assembly elections results from five states, says, ''These are early trends. We hope to perform well.''

Official ECI trends: Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje is leading by 8845 votes from Jhalrapatan; Congress' Ashok Gehlot is leading by 5112 votes from Sardarpura; Congress' Sachin Pilot leading by 5295 votes from Tonk. 

# Influential BJP leader Gulab Chand Kataria is trailing in Udaipur where he is pitted against Congress' veteran candidate Girija Vyas. 

# 10.15 AM: Trends are available for all 199 seats; Congress is currently leading in 105 assembly constituencies, BJP 80, BSP 4, Others 10.   

# Official ECI trends: Congress leading on 82 seats, BJP leading on 62 seats, others on 21 seats in Rajasthan. #AssemblyElections2018

Official ECI trends: Congress leading on 63 seats, BJP on 45, Others on 15 seats in Rajasthan. 

# Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot is said to be leading with 3,781 votes in Sardarpura seat, where he has been winning since 1998. BJP has not won the seat in two decades.

# Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Kailash Meghwal is leading by 3,411 votes in Bhilwara's Shahpura seat, reports PTI.

# 10.00 AM: Congress party has crossed the half-way mark in Rajasthan. The grand old party is said to be leading in 100 seats, while BJP is ahead in 80 seats.

# Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje is said to be leading by 4055 votes against Congress' Manvendra Singh from Jhalrapatan; Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot is leading by 5112 votes from Sardarpura.

# 9.45 AM: Trends available for 175/199 seats; Congress is currently leading in 91 assembly seats, BJP 76, BSP 1, Others 7.

# Congress candidate CP Joshi is currently leading in Nathdwara assembly constituency.  

# Official trends from the Election Commission: Congress leading on 25 seats, BJP on 23 seats in Rajasthan. 

9.30 AM: Trends available for 172/199 seats; Congress leading in 88 assembly seats, BJP 76, BSP 1, Others 0. 

# At least 35 counting centres have been set up and CCTV cameras have been installed in at least 40 Centres to keep a close watch on the counting process, a state election official said.  

# Congress workers have begun to celebrate party's likely victory outside Sachin Pilot's residence as initial trends show the party leading in Rajasthan. 

# Congress Rajasthan president Sachin Pilot leading from Tonk, reports ANI. 

 

# 9. 20 AM: Trends are available for 146/199 seats; Congress is ahead in 81 seats, BJP in 62, BSP 0, Others 3. 

# Congress leaders Rita Choudhury and Raghu Sharma are leading from Mandawa and Kekri respectively. 

# Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is leading from Jhalrapatan where she is pitted against Congress candidate Manvendra Singh. Singh, son of senior BJP leader and former Union minister Jaswant Singh, has joined Congress just a few months ahead of the state polls. Singh has been fielded against Raje in an apparent bid to woo the Rajput community votes. Manvendra, who is a sitting MLA from Sheo, is extremely popular among the Rajputs in Rajasthan.

# Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is said to be maintaining a comfortable lead in Sardarpura assembly constituency in Jodhpur. 

#Trends are currently available for 75/199 seats; Congress is leading in 50, BJP in 24, BSP 0, Others 1.    

# AICC General Secretary and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is leading from Sardarpura seat in Jodhpur. 

Congress has taken a massive lead as per the early trends. It is going strong in 31 assembly seats, while BJP is leading in 14, BSP 0, Others 0.

Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje has reached Tripur Sundari temple to offer prayers as the trends started pouring in for 199 assembly seats here. 

# Current trends show Congress led by Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot is leading in 13 seats, while BJP is ahead in 7, trends are yet to pour in for BSP and Others.

# Trends available for 16/199 seats, BJP is currently leading in 7 seats, Congress in 9, BSP 0 and Others 0   

# Trends are available for 7/199 seats: BJP ahead in 4, Congress in 4, BSP 0, Others 0

# Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot is leading in Tonk assembly seat, as per the latest trends. 

# As per the latest trends, BJP is leading in 2, Congress in 2 seats. 

# 8 AM: Counting of votes has begun amid tight security. Both the main parties here - BJP and Congress - are equally confident of their victory in the crucial assembly polls in Rajasthan.