Jaipur, June 15 (IANS) Rajasthan's ruling BJP on Thursday captured 13 seats out of 27 in local body by-elections held recently in 17 districts of the state.
The by-elections were held for one zila parishad seat, 17 seats of panchayat samitis and 9 seats of nagar palika/parishad.
The BJP nabbed 11 seats of panchayat samitis and two seats of nagar palika.
On the other hand, Congress managed to win 11 seat, while independent candidates claimed one panchayat samiti and one nagar palika seat.
BJP state General Secretary Bhajan Lal Sharma told IANS that this comes as a proud moment when BJP's vote share as well as seats have gone higher in these elections.
However, state Congress President Sachin Pilot expressed his happiness on the fact that urban voters in these elections have voted for Congress, saying his party claimed five seats in urban units while BJP could capture only two whicj proves that city youth and women have rejected the government owing to its "anti-people" policies.
Congress' state Vice President Archana Sharma said that this is a new trend shedding light on the changing mindset of voters in urban Rajasthan who are now preferring Congress over BJP.
However, BJP's Sharma said that they should discuss the results of rural seats too where their share has declined and his party's share has gone up. "Also, their claims of garnering more urban voters doesn't gain ground as our vote share has gone up," he added.
