Creating a history of sorts, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday swept Rajasthan, winning all 25 Lok Sabha seats there. The Congress was totally decimated with at least three Central Ministers, including State president Sachin Pilot, facing a humiliating defeat.
“Rajasthan has never [before] given all seats to a single party,” Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje Scindia told reporters. She dedicated the success to voters and BJP workers.
A shocked Sachin Pilot described the defeat “unprecedented” and said it was a vote against the Congress and the United Progressive Alliance and certainly a vote for Narendra Modi. He said the Congress had performed so badly for the first time in its 128 years of existence.
Taking responsibility for the miserable show, Mr. Pilot said it was time to “reflect and introspect.” He lost from Ajmer by a whopping 1.7 lakh votes. In Barmer, Jaswant Singh, who had rebelled against the party on being denied ticket and contested as Independent candidate, lost to Col. Sona Ram Chaudhury by 87,000 votes.
