The BJP put up an impressive show in Rajasthan too on Saturday, winning five of the seven Assembly constituencies where bypolls were held.

The Congress, which had four of these seats, managed to win just Dausa while the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) lost its lone seat of Khinwsar, also considered its home turf, for the first time since the seat’s first election in 2008. The Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) retained Chorasi.

Although the main opposition, Congress finished third in four constituencies. The BJP, whose tally dropped from 24 to 14 in the Lok Sabha polls, seems to have gained from checking the rebellions, fighting a more spirited and well-oiled campaign than the Congress, and benefitting from being the ruling party. The Congress, which at one point seemed set to have a good show, lost momentum after the Haryana Assembly poll results and could not recover.

Moreover, while Ashok Gehlot was mostly busy with Maharashtra polls and did not campaign, Sachin Pilot, also busy with Maharashtra, too had a limited engagement, including in Dausa where the party won.

While the results will boost Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma’s image, veteran politicians Hanuman Beniwal of RLP, the Ola family of the Congress, and BJP cabinet minister Kirodi Lal Meena have suffered major setbacks in the bypolls.

Going into the poll, the BJP had just one seat, Salumber, which the party retained. While the BAP’s Jitesh Katara maintained a lead for most of the rounds here, the BJP’s Shanta Meena, wife of Amrit Lal whose death had necessitated the bypoll, edged out Jitesh in the last leg and won the seat by close to 1,300 votes.

Apart from Salumber, the BJP won Ramgarh, Jhunjhunu, Deoli-Uniara, and Khinwsar seats; in these last three seats, the BJP victory was so decisive that it polled more votes than the next two candidates in a triangular contest.

Giving credit to PM Narendra Modi’s policies, CM Bhajan Lal said that the party polled 15 per cent more votes on these seven seats when compared to 2023 Assembly elections.

In a major setback for Congress and the RLP, the BJP won Jhunjhunu, which had been the Ola family’s stronghold, and Khinwsar which was considered an RLP stronghold.

The BJP last won Jhunjhunu 21 years ago. After that, the seat was won by the Congress’s Brijendra Ola in 2008, 2013, 2018 and 2023, before his election to Lok Sabha necessitated the bypoll. In the bypoll, the Congress fielded Ola’s son Amit who lost to the BJP’s Rajendra Bhamboo by a decisive 43,000 votes.

The RLP lost Khinwsar for the first time since the first election here in 2008; the seat was created following delimitation in 2006. After fielding party chief Hanuman Beniwal and his brother Narayan Beniwal in previous polls, the party fielded Hanuman’s wife Kanika who lost to BJP’s Rewant Ram by close to 14,000 votes.

In Deoli-Uniara, the BJP’s Rajendra Gurjar won by over 41,000 votes while Congress rebel Naresh Meena, in news for slapping SDM Amit Chaudhary on polling day, stood second, and the Congress’s K C Meena stood third.

Ramgarh kept shifting between the BJP and the Congress but the BJP’s Sukhvant Singh eventually went on to win, defeating Congress’s Aryaan Zubair, son of sitting Congress MLA Zubair Khan whose death had necessitated the bypoll.

The Congress managed to save its face by winning Dausa, where much was at stake for BJP’s Cabinet Minister Kirodi Lal Meena who has been the cause of much embarrassment for the government and party alike. In an apparent bid to pacify him, the BJP fielded Meena’s brother Jagmohan Meena, who lost to the Congress’s Deen Dayal by 2,300 votes. Following the loss, Kirodi alleged sabotage.

The BAP retained Chorasi while also giving the BJP a scare in Salumber. In Chorasi, the BAP’s Anil Katara won by a comfortable margin of 24,000 votes.

In an Assembly of 200, BJP’s tally will go up to 119, while Congress will have 66 seats, and BAP will have its highest representation at 4 MLAs. The other seats are held by independents (8), Bahujan Samaj Party (2) and Rashtriya Lok Dal (1).