Dholpur bypoll: litmus test for BJP govt

With the bypoll in Rajasthan’s Dholpur constituency just around the corner, party leaders from the BJP and Congress are leaving no stone unturned to emerge victorious. The election on Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s  home turf is scheduled on April 9.

With the Assembly election in Rajasthan slated for next year, the Dholpur bypoll is being considered as a litmus test for the ruling BJP. The result will be treated as people’s opinion of the government’s performance in the last three years.

The seat fell vacant after BSP MLA B L Kushwaha was disqualified from the Assembly after being convicted in a murder case. Interestingly, the BJP has fielded Shobha Rani Kushwaha, wife of B L Kushwaha. Shobha had joined BJP in February.

After getting a thumping majority in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan BJP leaders, including state BJP president Ashok Parnami, ministers like Yunus Khan, Rajendra Singh Rathore, and BJP MP Dushyant Singh had been campaigning in Dholpur for the upcoming election. Parnami told DH, “BJP will win Dholpur seat on the grounds of work done and development. The voters are supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vasundhara Raje on the grounds of development, which is why the BJP is getting a strong mandate everywhere.” Considering the vote share in 2013 election, Sharma was defeated by Kushwaha by a margin of 9,000 votes.