Jaipur: The BJP managed to elect a Congress turncoat as the Jaipur zila pramukh despite being in minority, causing a setback to the ruling Congress. In addition, it elected three zila pramukhs out of six, despite having a clear majority in only one district, Sirohi. Bharatpur’s zila pramukh was also elected by the BJP. The Congress won zila pramukh seats in Sawai Madhopur, Dausa, and Jodhpur.
In Saturday’s results, Rama Devi, the new Jaipur zila pramukh, was elected on a Congress symbol from Jaipur Ward No. 17. She joined the BJP on Monday morning in the presence of state president Satish Poonia and Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore, among others, and was announced as the BJP’s candidate for Jaipur zila pramukh. She won defeating Saroj Devi of the Congress, thanks to cross-voting by one Congress member.
Her election is expected to increase friction between Ashok Gehlot and former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot even as the cabinet expansion remains in flux. A veiled attack on Pilot, Gehlot on Monday claimed that the same people who tried to topple the government are involved in horse-trading. Rama Devi is known to be close to Pilot loyalist Ved Prakash Solanki, who represents Chaksu in Jaipur. Gehlot attacked the BJP, saying they had been accusing it of misusing government machinery until yesterday and now they are electing a zila pramukh using horse-trading. ‘This would not have been possible if the Congress government had misused state machinery like the previous BJP government’, he said.
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Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra announced that Rama Devi was expelled from the party for six years, and that other complaints have been made. A thorough investigation will be conducted, he added, to determine who is involved in anti-party activities. This election serves as a prelude to the 2023 state assembly elections, according to Satish Poonia, BJP state president.
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