Anta bypoll dispels vote theft claims of Cong: BJP
Jaipur, Nov. 19 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Rajasthan in-charge Radha Mohan Das Agrawal on Tuesday claimed that the results of the Anta assembly by-election "proved beyond doubt" that the BJP ensures a completely fair and transparent electoral process in the country.
Addressing a press meet after a party workshop in Jaipur, Agrawal asserted that despite being in power at both the Centre and in the state, the party did not attempt to influence the electoral process.
The government had known for six months that a bypoll would take place in Anta, he said. "If we wanted to control the election through politics, voter lists or administrative pressure, the election would have been in our pocket. But we honoured public sentiment and ensured 100% impartiality," added Agrawal.
Citing the 81% voter turnout in Anta, Agrawal said it was higher than even Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar region, where the BJP lost heavily despite a 70% turnout. "Those who accuse the BJP of vote theft should see Anta. The result is a loud and sharp slap on their face," he said.
Attacking former chief minister and veteran Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, Agrawal said that Gehlot was "time-barred and outdated".
He argued that if the BJP relied on theatrics, it would not have won elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi in the past year. "We win because Prime Minister Narendra Modi's words resonate directly with the people," he said, adding that Modi's communication "goes straight to the hearts of citizens".
Agrawal accused the Congress of surviving on sloganeering for decades. "They gave the slogan of 'Garibi Hatao' but removed the poor instead," he said, claiming that the BJP government, over the past 11 years, improved the lives of the poor and middle class, marking a fundamental shift in governance.
Agrawal also claimed he had heard that all six Congress MLAs in Bihar were planning to join the Janata Dal (United). "I would advise Ashok Gehlot to leave Rajasthan and go to Bihar to tie down his six MLAs, just like he used to manage his flock when he was in power, when Sachin Pilot often played games with him," he said.
Agrawal said the Anta bypoll was a focused contest for the BJP, with chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje and senior state party leaders closely involved. Calling election outcomes a routine part of political life, he remarked, "We win many elections. If we let them (Congress) win one or two occasionally, they will at least survive."
The BJP leader reiterated that the Anta result was a testament to the party's commitment to democracy and fairness, reflecting what he called the people's continued trust in the BJP's leadership.
Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi, responding to BJP's remarks, said the allegations of electoral fraud raised by the Congress in various states were based on "facts and concrete evidence."
He claimed that the BJP won the Bihar elections only by "compromising democratic values" with the support of the Election Commission."
"Neither the BJP-led central government nor the Election Commission has any answer to the allegations backed by facts," he said.
Chaturvedi added that in Anta the people rejected the "misgovernance" of the current state government.
He added that despite the chief minister, deputy chief minister and the entire state cabinet campaigning aggressively, the BJP suffered a crushing defeat because voters still remembered the welfare work carried out during the previous Congress government, which the BJP "pushed into cold storage," an allegation that echoes earlier claims by other senior Congress leaders, including Ashok Gehlot....
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