Victory in Ramgarh bypoll shows vote of confidence by people, they 'took right decision at right time': Congress

Jaipur: The ruling Congress in Rajasthan termed the party’s victory in the Ramgarh poll a vote of confidence by the people who have supported its president Rahul Gandhi’s agenda for farmers. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the people in Ramgarh “took right decision on a right time” and the party will now focus on winning all 25 seats in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. [caption id=“attachment_3886351” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Ashok Gehlot. PTI[/caption] “Just three days ago, Gandhi spoke about minimum income for the poor, which is a revolutionary idea. Public have endorsed it,” Gehlot told reporters. The ruling Congress in Rajasthan on Thursday touched the halfway mark in the 200-member state assembly with its candidate Shafia Zubair defeating her BJP rival by a margin of over 12,000 votes in the Ramgarh poll. Zubair secured 44.77 per cent votes against BJP candidate Sukhwant Singh’s 38.20 per cent, according to officials of the state election department. With the results of the Ramgarh assembly poll, Congress now has 100 MLAs in the House and its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has one MLA. The BJP has 73 members in the Rajasthan assembly. Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot alleged the BJP tried to polarise the communities, religion and cast in elections, but failed. “This is a vote of confidence yet again by the people of Rajasthan towards the congress party. It was the first election after the government’s formation and the result is an indication that the BJP has lost the support they had,” Pilot said. “I thank the people of Ramgarh who have restored their faith and confidence by making the party win the seat,” he said. He said that the party had already started the preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and exuded confidence that it will win all the 25 seats in the state. The BJP has already lost support. People have showed faith in the Congress and the party will form government at the Centre, he said. In the 200-member Rajasthan assembly the BJP has 73 MLAs while the BSP has six, Rastriya Loktantrik Party (RLTP) three, and the CPI (M) and the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) two each. There are 13 Independent legislators in the House. The election to the Ramgarh assembly seat, which was won by the BJP in the 2013 state polls, could not be held along with other constituencies due to the death of the BSP candidate ahead of December 7 Rajasthan elections.