Rajasthan, Dholpur by-poll results: BJP's Shobha Rani Kushavah wins; Congress cries EVM tampering

Dholpur/Jaipur: Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Shobha Rani Kushavah trounced Congress' Banwari Lal Sharma by 38,673 votes after the final round of counting in the Dholpur Assembly by-poll in Rajasthan.

Kushavah garnered 91,548 votes, while Sharma got 52,875 votes. 

By-election for this seat was necessitated after Bahujan Samaj Party legislator Banwari Lal Kushavah was disqualified as he was convicted in a murder case in 2016.

The BJP stunned everyone by giving the ticket to Banwari Lal Kushavah's wife Shobha Rani.

Meanwhile, the BJP leaders are giving credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje whereas the Congress is questioning the credibility of EVM machines.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore and Health Minister Kalicharan Saraf said that the election was contested on the development agenda and voters have given their mandate in favour of the party.

"Development was our agenda and the trends have indicated that the people voted for the development," Rathore, who along with other leaders did intensive campaigning in Dholpur, said.

Saraf said that people of Dholpur have voted for development and the party is going to win the seat.

"The election was contested under the leadership of the chief minister and we are going to win the seat," he said.

Enthusiastic workers gathered at the party headquarters here and congratulated each other.

"The impact of the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is visible in the election. People have voted for them. The party won Uttar Pradesh elections recently and this also had an impact in Dholpur by-election," the party MLA Alka Singh said.

Khadi Board chairman Shambhu Dayal Badgujar said that the trends were a very clear indication that people have once again expressed faith in the leadership of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister.

Badgujar along with his supporters congratulated the party leadership.

On the other hand, Congress leader and former MLA Pratap Singh questioned the credibility of EVM machines.

"There are only trends and the result has not been announced so far. The chief minister herself stayed in Dholpur after the campaigning got over which was in violation of the rules of the election commission.”

"The BJP misused the government machinery and the party wanted to win the election anyhow. The credibility of EVM machines is also in question,” Singh said.

In the 2013 Assembly Elections, BSP candidate BL Kushwaha had won the seat by defeating Congress candidate Banwari Lal Sharma by a margin of 9,209 votes.

BJP candidate (Abdul Sagir Khan) was in the third position by securing 35,351 votes.

In Dholpur Assembly constituency in Rajasthan, where the BJP is in power, nearly 80 percent polling was recorded till 6 pm on Sunday.

It was for the first time voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines were used in this election.

Voting at VVPAT machine is confirmed after seven seconds.

In the 2013 Assembly Elections, the Congress suffered one of its worst defeats in the history of the state, winning only 21 of the 200 assembly seats. The BJP swept the polls, winning 163 seats.

The BJP presently has a strength of 160 and Congress 24 in the House.

Voting at VVPAT machine is confirmed after seven seconds.

The by-poll is a prestige issue for both the Congress and the ruling BJP, and it can be gauged from the fact that Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje herself, with BJP state president Ashok Parnami and her cabinet colleagues, have spent days in the constituency to woo voters.

Similar was the case with the Congress whose senior leaders, including state President Sachin Pilot, former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and leader of opposition in the state assembly Rameshwar Dudi, campaigned extensively in the constituency to garner votes for their candidate.

In the 2013 assembly elections, the Congress suffered one of its worst defeats in the history of the state, winning only 21 of the 200 assembly seats. The BJP swept the polls, winning 163 seats.

The BJP presently has a strength of 160 and Congress 24 in the House.