JAIPUR, Dec 9: Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia on Wednesday termed the BJP’s performance in panchayat samiti and zila parishad elections in the state “historic” and said the ruling Congress has lost the people’s confidence as it failed to fulfil its promises.
He said the BJP outdid the Congress due to a robust booth management system and a strong connect with people at the grassroots level.
The BJP bagged 1,989 of the 4,371 panchayat samiti seats while the Congress won 1,852 with almost all results of the four-phase local government polls being declared.
At the zila parishad level, BJP candidates won 353 of the 635 seats for which results were declared and the Congress got 252. The result for only one zila parishad seat is yet to be announced in the election held across 21 of the state’s 33 districts.
“The results are historic and clearly show that the ruling Congress has lost the confidence of the people. The government has failed to deliver and there is resentment not only among people but also among Congress leaders and MLAs,” Poonia told PTI.
He said the Congress has lost ground in rural areas. The party could not even manage to win in the home towns of its ministers.
“The Congress came to power by promising a complete loan waiver for farmers, employment to youths, etc. But it betrayed the people. Now, the rural voters have expressed faith in the policies of the Modi government,” the MLA from Amber constituency in Jaipur said.
In the last one year, Poonia said, the BJP’s state unit worked in “election-mode”. Issues like inflated electricity bills, deteriorating law and order situation, no development activities in rural areas, and unemployment in the state were effectively highlighted.
The BJP’s strong booth management system, efficient use of social media and dedicated workers played a crucial role in the party’s victory, he added.
“Even before the Congress could think of starting preparations, we had completed our work on the ground. The party appointed the district in-charge (organisation) and the panchayat election in-charge who ensured meetings at the booth level,” Poonia said.
“Every district has a four-layer — booth, shakti kendra, mandal and district — organisational structure that has helped the party in strengthening its functioning,” he said.
Poonia noted that the Congress’ defeat comes in the backdrop of the party extending support to the Bharat Bandh called by farmers protesting against the Centre’s new farm laws to deregulate the sale of crops.
He claimed there is no resentment among the farmers in Rajasthan against the recently enacted farm laws.
Polling for the panchayat elections was held on November 23 and 27, and December 1 and 5.
The results come just days before the Ashok Gehlot government completes two years in Rajasthan, and only months after it tackled a revolt among the Congress MLAs led by sacked deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot.
RLP, CPI (M) and BSP won 60, 26 and 5 seats respectively in the panchayat samiti polls. As many as 439 independent candidates have also won. (PTI)
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