BJP DOES WELL IN RAJASTHAN CIVIC POLLS

BJP races past ruling Cong in Rajasthan civic body polls

     Jaipur, Aug 20 (PTI) The BJP today raced past the

Congress in Rajasthan civic body polls capturing power in 57

of the 126 municipal bodies and relegating the ruling party to

the second position with a tally of 49.

     The BJP won 57 posts of chairpersons, Congress 49, BSP

two, NCP one and Independents 17, state Election Commissioner

A K Pandey said.

     The party maintained its winning run in the election to

the posts of ward councillors as well emerging victorious in

1071 out of 2707 wards whose results have been declared so

far, said the official.

     Congress has won in 1025 wards, Independents 574, NCP-21,

BSP-14, and CPI-M 2, he said.

     In the last civic body polls held in the state in 2005

with Vasundhara Raje at the helm, the BJP had formed 81

municipal boards, the Congress 33, and Independents-17.

     Reacting to her party's impressive show in a jubiliant

mood, BJP General Secretary and former chief minister

Vasundhara Raje congratulated party workers saying that the

results were an indication that the reverse countdown for the

Gehlot government had begun.

     "The electorate have rejected the Gehlot government's

misrule of the last 20 months", Raje commented in a statement

here.

     "Janta Gehlot raj ke kushashan se tang aachuki hai"

(People are tired of Gehlot's misrule)", she alleged.

     Despite misusing official machinery the Congress

candidates could not win as the party and the government both

lost public mandate, she said.

     At a press conference the BJP state president Arun

Chaturvedi said it was the worst defeat of the ruling Congress

party as its four union ministers Mahadev Singh Khadela in

Sikar, Namonarayan Meena in Tonk, C P Joshi in Bhilwara, and

Sachin Pilot in Ajmer could not enable their candidates to win

chairpersons' posts.

     Similary about 15 ministers of the Gehlot government

tried their best to boost the morale of Congress candidates

but failed miserably, Chaturvedi said.

     When contacted a PCC Spokesman said as compared to the

previous civic election in 2005, the Congress gained 33 to 49,

while BJP lost 27 chairpersons' posts. PTI