How to win elections after losing: BJP reveals strategy in Rajasthan civic polls

What began with an arbitrary delimitation of wards and extravagant roadshows by the chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma in the 10 cities with municipal corporations, and transited to voter suppression and intimidation during polling, has ended with even more brazen attempts to steal the civic body elections in Rajasthan.

The election results showed that the Congress was behind BJP’s vote share by less than one per cent; however, the number of municipalities and wards won by the BJP turned out to be more because of Delimitation designed to the advantage of the BJP.

In several municipalities where the BJP tally was less than Congress and independent candidates, the latter were threatened by the police, abducted, lured and intimidated to support the BJP in the voting for mayors, chairmen and the boards.

In the municipality of Khatushyamji, the election of the chairman was deferred five times and at 1 am the election, it was announced that the election was postponed, tweeted Govind Singh Dotasra, Rajasthan Congress president.

At Sultanpur in Kota police resorted to a baton charge when Congress workers objected to police allowing BJP workers and family members of BJP councillors to enter the polling station. Haryana police, it was alleged, detained a councillor from Tijara overnight but failed to persuade him to defect and vote for the BJP.

Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal on Monday, 21 September reviewed the election results with RPCC office bearers.

Later talking to the media he warned that policemen taking law in their hands would be identified and prosecuted when the government changes in the state.

Congress leaders claimed that Rajasthan, Haryana and even Uttar Pradesh police were utilised to win over independent councillors to the side of the BJP. In chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma’s hometown of Bharatpur, BJP had won just 20 of the 65 wards while independents defied the BJP and the CM to win 36 seats. However, BJP managed to get its candidate Anuradha Singh elected unopposed as the chairperson.   

Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot alleged that in some of the bigger municipalities, independent councillors were won over with sums ranging from Rs 1.50 crores to Rs 2.50 crores.

Some independent councillors who could not be lured with money were threatened with notices for alleged illegal construction, illegal extension etc of their houses and shops, he alleged.

The BJP, Gehlot said, had introduced large-scale electoral malpractices and was using the template perfected in Haryana and West Bengal.

The Hanumangarh Independent MLA Ganeshraj Bansal, who was helping independent councillors to form the municipal board was arrested by police for his alleged involvement in a 23-year-old case.

He was presented before the magistrate who sent him on four days remand. Despite the setback, independent councillors rallied and elected Manju Ranwa as the chairperson.

For possibly the first time in Rajasthan several elected Congress and independent councillors moved the High Court on a court holiday and urged the court to prevent the police from arresting them.

The High Court heard the pleas of the councillors till past midnight and issued preventive orders against the arrest of nine councillors of the Hanumangarh municipal council. Similar orders were issued to prevent the arrest of the councillors of Sriganganagar, Kuchera in Nagaur district and Srivijaynagar in Sriganganagar district.

In Bikaner, union minister Arjun Meghwal suffered a rude jolt as he failed to get the BJP board formed.

The Congress effectively prevented poaching and with 42 seats of its own managed to get 50 votes with the support of independent councillors to get Anil Kalla elected the mayor.

BJP managed to get its candidate elected as mayor in Ajmer although it had 32 councillors against 37 of the Congress. In Baran, AAP formed the board while in Nokha the CPM formed the board with Bajrang Lal Soni elected as chairperson.

PCC President Govind Singh Dotasra claimed that the Delimitation of wards, which cannot be challenged in a court, were designed to ensure that minority candidates and opposition candidates find it more difficult to win. The number of voters in some wards were 30,000 while in others less than 15,000 and in some just about five thousand. There was no public hearing to allow people to record their dissent and the wards were created to benefit the BJP.

“The BJP government in the state held the urban civic bodies elections before the panchayat elections in the hope that urban and semi-urban aeas would support the party.

The vote share of the BJP and the Congress (35.30 per cent and 34.36 per cent respectively) show that the trading class and the middle classes are frustrated with BJP’s brand of governance, he added.

Both the parties, however, were given a reality check by independent candidates who polled 27.47 per cent of the votes in a reflection of growing disenchantment of people with established parties.