“They have accepted defeat…”: Ashok Gehlot attacks BJP over Rajasthan assembly polls

Churu (Rajasthan) [India]: Taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said BJP has already accepted its defeat in the state polls.

“…PM Modi keeps visiting states again and again…after the election, will PM Modi come and open colleges here?… Will he come and make roads here? What will PM Modi do? They (BJP) can’t decide a face here, they gave tickets to 9 MPs and I consider this as their biggest failure…this means they have accepted defeat”, CM Gehlot said while addressing a public gathering in Rajasthan’s Churu.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday, dedicated multiple development projects worth about Rs 5,000 crore at Jodhpur in Rajasthan.

PM Modi also flagged off two new train services in Rajasthan including, a new train – Runicha Express – connecting Jaisalmer to Delhi and a new heritage train connecting Marwar Junction – to Khambli Ghat.

Further, two other rail projects were dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister. These included projects for doubling the 145 km long ‘Degana-Rai Ka Bagh’ rail line and the 58 km long ‘Degana-Kuchaman City’ rail line.

PM Modi also attacked the Congress over “corruption” in government schemes during its rule in Madhya Pradesh and alleged that funds meant for the poor were filling the coffers of the corrupt.

Meanwhile, the BJP, on Monday, released its first list of the candidates for the Rajasthan elections.

Seven MPs have been named in the first list of 41 candidates by the BJP for the Rajasthan elections, just hours after the Election Commission announced the poll dates.

The seven MPs and the seats they will contest from include Diya Kumari (Vidhyadhar Nagar), Bhagirath Choudhary (Kishangarh), Kirodi Lal Meena (Sawai Madhopur), Devji Patel (Sanchore), Narendra Kumar (Mandawa), Rajyavardhan Rathore (Jhotwara) and Baba Balaknath (Tijara).

According to the BJP, the names were finalised at a meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) that was chaired by the BJP chief JP Nadda on October 1.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also attended the meeting.

Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram will go to polls on different days from November 7-30 and votes will be counted for the five states on December 3.

Voting for all 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan will take place on November 23.
The counting of votes for all five states will take place on December 3.

While Congress is in power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh is ruled by BJP, Telangana by Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Mizoram by Mizo National Front (MNF).