Congress WIN Against BJP in Rajasthan Forecast By Neal Bhai India News: BJP faces one of its biggest challenges in Rajasthan. For a party that had won 163 out of 200 seats in the 2013 assembly elections and blanked Congres
Main issues
Farm crisis: Rajasthan, for the first time, witnessed suicides by farmers following crop failure and low costs for the produce in the local markets. Farmers protested in several parts of the state and the police used force against them in some places.
Governance and accessibility: The election will be a test for Vasundhara Raje’s special focus on empowering women through social schemes such as the Bhamashah card meant to provide free medical care for the poor. The BJP has faced flak for the chief minister, senior ministers and MLAs being inaccessible to people.
Caste indifference: Four communities — Gujjars, Jats, Meenas and Rajputs —who together can decide who’ll form next government, have flexed muscle before the polls making several demands.
After the bypoll losses, Raje started an outreach initiative and travelled across the state, first holding Jan Samvads (public meetings) at different locations and then launching the Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra to showcase the work done by her government.
Rajasthan was also high on the agenda of BJP president Amit Shah, who held several meetings with party workers. Shah told the party workers to keep their dissatisfaction and other issues aside and work to break the myth that no party can win Rajasthan twice in a row.
Though the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has announced that it will contest all seats in Rajasthan, there has been little scope for a third force in the state. Non-Congress, non-BJP parties have never got more than 10% of the votes.
Former faculty member of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Manohar Lal Yadav said the BJP knows that its electoral prospects are not too good in Rajasthan. “The party is aware, after the rout in by-elections, about its poor show in the state. It needs more time to campaign; that is why probably the polling in Rajasthan has been kept to the last and there’s a gap of nine days between voting in MP and Rajasthan,” he said.
Rajasthan and Telangana go to polls on December 7. Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram will vote on November 28 will Chhattisgarh will have two-phase polls on November 12 and 20.
