Rajasthan: 13 of 19 Vasundhara Raje ministers lose elections

Rajasthans outgoing Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje speaks to the media after the announcement of Assembly election results, in Jaipur. PTI Photo

JAIPUR: As many as 13 of 19 ministers in the outgoing Vasundhara Raje government have lost the Assembly elections in Rajasthan as results and trends brought electoral reverses for the ruling BJP. However, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and her five cabinet colleagues have won their respective constituencies. Raje (Jhalrapatan), Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria (Udaipur), Education Minister Vasundev Devnani (Ajmer North), Women and Child Development Minister Anita Bhadel (Ajmer South), Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore (Churu) and Higher Education Minister Kiran Maheshwari (Rajsamand) have retained their respective seats. The chief minister won the Jhalrapatan seat with a margin of 34,980 votes by defeating her nearest rival and Congress leader Manvendra Singh, the son of veteran BJP leader Jaswant Singh. She had won the seat in 2013 elections with a margin of 60,896 votes. Among the ministers who lost the elections are: Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini (Anta), Food & Civil Supply Minister Baboo Lal Verma (Baran-Atru), Revenue Minister Amra Ram (Pachpadra), Tourism Minister Krishnendra Kaur (Nadbai), Housing and Urban Development Minister Srichand Kriplani (Nimahera). Also among those who lost are Water Resources Minister Rampratap (Hanumangarh), Social Justice Minister Arun Chaturvedi (Civil Lines), Industries Minister Rajpal Singh (Jhotwara), Cooperative Minister Ajay Singh (Degana), Gaupalan Minister Otaram Devasi (Sirohi) and Transport Minister Yoonus Khan (Tonk). Khan lost the Muslim-dominated seat of Tonk to Pradesh Congress Committee President Sachin Pilot with a margin of 54179 votes. He was the only Muslim candidate fielded by the BJP in the state. PHED Minister Surendra Goyal (Jaitaran) and Devsthan Minister Rajkumar Rinwa (Ratangarh) had turned rebel after the BJP denied them ticket and they contested the elections as Independents. Both have lost their respective seats.