Rajasthan Election 2023: The political contest in Rajasthan elections is heating up, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) garnering a fresh lead by crossing the majority mark, as per early trends, in the 199-member State Assembly. BJP is now ahead on 116 seats, while the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress is trailing behind with a lead in 67 seats.
The BJP surged ahead of Congress as counting progressed, while Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) and BSP are leading in three and two seats respectively. CPI(M) has managed to lead in only one seat.
According to results by the Election Commission of India (ECI), BJP's Vasundhara Raje is leading in Jhalrapatan with a margin of 29,863 votes, while Satish Poonia has managed a very narrow lead by only two votes in Amber.
On the other hand, Chief Minister Gehlot is leading in Sardarpura constituency by over 15,000 votes and Sachin Pilot is leading the neck-to-neck fight in Tonk by over 2,800 votes. To make matters more troubling for Congress, BJP's Diya Kumari is leading Vidhyadhar Nagar by 26,000 votes and Mahant Balak Nath is ahead in Tijara constituency by 21,000 votes.
For the unversed, Rajasthan's State Assembly comprises a total of 200 seats, with specific allocations for marginalized communities. Within this structure, 34 seats are designated for Scheduled Castes (SCs), while 25 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs). The current term of the Rajasthan Assembly spans from January 15, 2019, to January 14, 2024.
The total number of electors in Rajasthan as per electoral rolls is 5,26,80,545. The state is currently governed by the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government since 2018. He was the CM of the state from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2008 to 2013.
What happened in the 2018 and 2013 Assembly Elections in Rajasthan?
In the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly Election, the Congress party led by veteran leader Ashok Gehlot emerged as the winner and won 100 seats. The BJP managed to win just 73 seats after ruling the state from 2013 to 2018. Gehlot replaced BJP's Vasundhara Raje Scindia as the Chief Minister. In the 2013 Rajasthan Election, the BJP won a massive majority with 163 seats while the Congress managed to get just 21 seats.
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