Rajasthan Poll Results 2023: 6 Reasons Why Congress Could Not Retain Desert State

By: Tejas Joshi | December 03, 2023

The Congress in Rajasthan, led by CM Ashok Gehlot, is staring at a defeat in desert state, early trends showed on Sunday.

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As per early trends, the BJP is seen crossing the 100 mark needed for majority, while the Congress is struggling behind on 76 seats.

Congress' defeat at the BJP's hands was possible because of several reasons. Here are 6 of them.

1) Anti-incumbency: The desert state, in the last 3 decades, has flipped every 5 years and changed the party in power.

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2) Pilot-Gehlot rivalry: With two major leaders of the party locked in ego battle, the scattered Congress could not put up a united front.

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3) Paper leaks: Frequent paper leaks in govt job exams and govt's helplessness in stopping the menace led to anger within youth against Congress.

4) Polarisation: With BJP making the Kanhaiya Lal murder case in Udaipur a big poll issue blaming ruling Congress, the polarisation helped it consolidate Hindu voters.

5) The Red diary: Congress' sacked minister Rajendra Gudha's claims on red diary of corruption by Gehlot govt dented a blow to credibility.

6) Women's safety: The BJP made a huge issue over incidents of rape and abduction of women in the state, turning women's safety into a major poll plank.

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