By Rajnish Singh
Jaipur, Dec 11 (IANS) The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faced a major embarrassment in Rajasthan when 17 of its ministers lost their seats, though Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje managed to win in Jhalrapatan with a margin of 34,980 votes.
Raje defeated her Congress rival and veteran BJP leader Jaswant Singh's son Manvendra Singh, who had switched sides from the BJP just before the elections and contested against her.
Of the 17 BJP Ministers, state Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini lost Anta seat to his nearest rival Pramod Bhaya of Congress, who got 97,160 votes with a winning margin of 34,063 votes.
Sports Minister Gajendra Singh Khivsar also lost from Lohwat seat to his Congress rival Kishana Ram Vishnoi. Public Works Department Minister Yunush Khan, who was pitted against state Congress President Sachin Pilot from Tonk constituency, too, had to face defeat. Pilot secured 1,09,040 votes and won with a margin of 54,179 seats.
Tribal Area Minister Nandlal Meena's son Hemant Meena lost the Pratapgarh seat to Congress's Ramlal, who bagged 1,00,625 votes and won with a margin of 16,668 votes.
Industy Minister Rajpal Singh Shekhawat lost Jhotwara seat to Congress's Lalchand Kataria, who secured 1,27,185 votes, securing victory with a margin of 10,747 votes. Water Resources Minister Rampratap lost Hanumangarh seat to his Congress rival Vinod, Kumar who secured 1,11,207 votes, emerging victorious with a margin of 15,522 votes.
Minister Hem Singh Bhadana lost from Thangazi constituency. He was defeated by Independent candidate Kanti Prasad, who secured 64,079 votes and won with a margin of 29,350 votes. Bhadana was contesting as an Independent candidate after quitting BJP a few months ago.
Minister Ajay Sigh Kilak lost Degana constituency to his Congress rival Vijaypal Mirdaha, who got 75,362 votes and won with a margin of 21,538 votes. Social Justice and Minority Affairs Minister Arun Chaturvedi lost Civil Lines to Congress's Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, who secured 87,937 votes and won with a margin of 18,078 votes.
Urban Development Minister Shrichand Kriplani lost Nimbahera seat to Congress's Anjana Udailal, who got 1,10,037 votes and had a victory margin of 11,908 votes. Revenue Minister Amra Ram lost Pachpadra seat to Congress's Madan Prajapat, who polled 69,393 votes and won with a margin of 2,395 votes. Art and Culture Minister Krishnendra Kaur (Deepa) lost Nadbai seat to her BSP rival Joginder Singh Awana, who got 50,976 votes.
Mines Minister Surender Pal Singh lost Karanpur seat to Congress's Gurmeet Singh Kooner (73, 896 votes) with a margin of 28,376 votes. State Minister Otaram Devasi faced defeat in Sirohi constituency from Independent candidate Sanyam Lodha, who got 81,272 votes and won with a margin of 10,253 votes.
State Minister Banshidhar Bajiya lost Khandela seat to Independent candidate Mahadeo Singh, who got 53,864 votes and won with a margin of 4,348 votes. State Minister Sushil Katara lost Chorasi seat to Bhartiya Tribal Party candidate Rajkumar Roat, who got 64,119 votes and won with a margin of 12,934 votes.
State Minister Kamsa also lost Bhopalgarh seat to his Rashtriya Loktantrik Party rival Pukhraj, who got 68,386 votes. His won by a margin of 22,584 votes.
The status is known for the 199 out of 200 constituencies, results for which were declared by the Election Commission. Election in Ramgarh constituency was countermanded following the death of BSP candidate Laxman Singh.
(Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in)
(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
