Rajasthan by-polls: Rahul's victory message to Congress cadres

JAIPUR: As Finance Minister Arun Jaitley read out Modi government's final budget on Thursday morning, Congress slowly inched towards a massive victory in Rajasthan by-polls. By afternoon, the party had already won Mandalgarh Assembly seat and currently is on its way to clinching Alwar and Ajmer Lok Sabha seats.

Taking to Twitter, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi wrote: 

Well done Rajasthan Congress! Proud of each and every one of you. This is a rejection of the BJP by the people of Rajasthan.#RajasthanByPolls — Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 1, 2018

Rahul was not the only one to rejoice Congress' victory.

"This by-election is a vote against BJP`s divisive politics," party leader and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said even before Election Commission was to formally declare the results.

He further added that the results are a precursor to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The results of Rajasthan by-election has come has a major jolt to Vasundhara Raje-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state, which is eyeing a second term in the upcoming Assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year. 

Raje later took to Twitter to state that she accepts people's verdict and will continue to remain committed to the development of Rajasthan, further adding that the party cadets need to work hard going forward.

जनता की सेवा का जो प्रण हमने 4 साल पहले लिया था, उसे पूरा करने में हमने कोई कसर नहीं छोड़ी। आज तीनो निर्वाचन क्षेत्रों में जो फ़ैसला जनता ने दिया है वह सिर आँखों पर। #JaiJaiRajasthan — Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) February 1, 2018

Congress candidate Vivek Dhakar won Mandalgarh Assembly seat while party leaders Dr. Karan Singh Yadav and Raghu Sharma are set to win Alwar and Ajmer Lok Sabha seats respectively.

Party cadets took to streets across the state to celebrate the victory. 

Congress National Spokesperson Sanjay Jha tweeted:

The real headline of the day is #RajasthanByPolls . Sorry Mr Jaitley, but your #Jumlanomics is totally overshadowed. India has had enough of manipulated headlines. #Budget2018 — Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) February 1, 2018

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, “Congratulations @SachinPilot. Superb show in the three results declared today, well done.”

The voting for the seats was held on Monday, January 29, 2018. A total of 42 candidates in fray for three seats in Rajasthan. The by-elections on all the three Rajasthan seats were necessitated after the sudden death of BJP MPs Sanwarlal Jat from Ajmer, Mahant Chand Nath Yogi from Alwar, and MLA Kirti Kumari from Mandalgarh.