Congress touches halfway mark with victory in Ramgarh poll

ALWAR/JAIPUR: Congress on Thursday managed to improve its tally in the Rajasthan legislative assembly by one seat with its candidate Shafia Zubair winning the Ramgarh seat with a margin of 12,228 votes. The Congress, which formed the government in the state following the recent assembly elections, remains one short of full majority.

Reacting to the Congress candidate's victory in Ramgarh, chief minister Ashok Gehlot said: "People have made up their mind against the BJP government and even if the NDA promises to lay roads in gold in the Budget tomorrow (Friday), it will have no impact. The bypolls generally reflect the mood of the people and the win shows their faith in the Congress party ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections."

Polling on the seat had to be deferred and could not be held on December 7, when the rest of the state went to polls, following the untimely death of BSP candidate Laxman Singh on November 29 last year. It was held on January 28 and the counting was held on Thursday.

Win will provide a fillip to Congress ahead of LS polls

Zubair secured 44.77 per cent votes and polled 83,311 votes, while her nearest BJP rival Sukhwant Singh got 71,083 votes, with a polling percentage of 38.20. Former Union minister Natwar Singh's son Jagat Singh of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) finished third with 24,856 votes, securing 13.36 per cent votes. NOTA polled 241 votes in Ramgarh, including one from a postal ballot. A total of 20 candidates contested the election in Ramgarh.

The victory will provide a fillip to the Congress party ahead of the Lok Sabha election. It is also quite significant for the party, which touched the halfway mark in the state assembly after it fell short after the assembly election in the state. The party had initially expected 140 plus seats in the assembly.

The result can also be seen as a strong message to the BJP in Ramgarh following the alleged lynching of 31-year-old Rakbar Khan by cow vigilantes. The BJP had fielded Sukhwant Singh, replacing its sitting controversial MLA Gyandev Ahuja.

Interestingly, BJP could not open their account in four polling booths (1,10, 75 and 77) in Ramgarh.

After the win, deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot said, “This is a vote of confidence yet again by the people of Rajasthan for the Congress party. It was the first election after the government's formation and the result is an indication that BJP has lost the support they had."

Pilot also said that BJP tried to polarise communities on the basis of religion and caste but failed. “I thank the people of Ramgarh who have restored their faith and confidence by helping the party win the seat,” he said.

Newly-elected MLA Shafia Zubair said that she had sought votes on the agenda of development and communal harmony and the victory was a result of this. “It was an election based on development. People want development and they know that voting for the Congress will ensure that the constituency gets proper development and focus,” she said.