Rajasthan Election Results 2023: "Misgovernance And Injustice Will Lose," Says BJP Chief CP Joshi

As the counting of the votes is underway in Rajasthan, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief CP Joshi on Sunday, indirectly referring to Ashok Gehlot led Congress, that misgovernance and injustice will lose.

The initial trends show that Congress is leading on four seats in Rajasthan and BJP is leading on one seat as the counting of votes progresses in the 199-member assembly seats.  As per Election Commission, Rajasthan Congress MLA candidate Amin Kagzi from Kishan Pole constituency is leading in early trends, as per ECI.

He said that the public will bless the BJP with a complete majority.

"The public will bless the BJP with a complete majority. Misgovernance and injustice will lose; Good governance and justice will prevail," Rajasthan BJP chief told ANI on Sunday (December 3). 

The counting of votes for 199 out of 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan began on Sunday morning after days of intense campaigning by major political parties, including the ruling Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Rajasthan minister and Congress leader BD Kalla said that we will get mandate of people of Bikaner and enter the Legislative Assembly.

"I can say that I will get mandate of people of Bikaner and enter the Legislative Assembly...Congress will repeat government in the state," he added.

Moreover, Congress leader Pawan Khera on Sunday said that the results will be better than our hopes and expectations.

"The results will be better than our hopes and expectations. We are retaining power in both Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. We will reclaim power in Madhya Pradesh and claim power in Telangana," Mr Khera said.

The exit polls have reinforced the perception of a hard contest in Rajasthan, with differences in their prediction of the winner in the crucial Hindi heartland state that has a nearly three-decade tradition of not repeating an incumbent government.

While three exit polls predicted the BJP to be the clear winner, two others showed Congress was ahead in the sweepstakes to form the next government in the state.

BJP and Congress are engaged in an intense fight with both parties seeking to outdo each other in terms of poll promises.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot (Sardarpura), former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje (Jhalrapatan), former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot (Tonk), state PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra (Lachhmangarh), RLP convenor Hanuman Beniwal (Khinvsar) are some of the key faces among the 1,862 candidates in the fray.

The state is currently governed by the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government since 2018. He was the Chief Minister of the state from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2008 to 2013.

Sardarpura is on the list of key constituencies as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has won this seat since 1998. The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Mahendra Singh Rathore from the Congress' bastion.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who was seen as being sidelined during the party's election campaign, has also become active ahead of the vote counting day.

Ms Raje is contesting the election from Jhalrapatan in Rajasthan's Jhalawar, a constituency she has represented since 2003.

Rajasthan went to the polls on 199 of 200 assembly seats on November 25. The majority mark in the state is 100. In the Karanpur constituency, elections were adjourned due to the passing of Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Koonar.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)