Rajasthan polls: Vasundhara Raje to contest again from Jhalrapatan

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje announced on Sunday that she would contest the coming assembly election from Jhalrapatan in Jhalawar district, a seat she has won three times, in 2003, 2008 and 2013.

A long connection

Raje said she had a bond of 30 years with the people of Jhalawar, who had given her love and affection, and that she had done all she could for the Jhalawar and Baran districts. Although the BJP would aim to win all 200 seats, she said, it would give special attention to 100 of them.

She expressed confidence that the BJP would again form a majority government. Party workers, she claimed, had created a situation in which Rahul Gandhi, whom she described as the Congress’s prime ministerial face, was having to hold public meetings at the level of individual assembly seats.

Lessons from 2008

Looking back at the 2008 election, Raje said the BJP had fallen eight seats short of forming the government despite difficult conditions, winning 78 seats while the Congress won 96. Four seats had gone to the JD(U) and BJP rebels. Six of the eight seats the party had needed were in Jhalawar and Baran districts, she said, adding that voters there would not repeat the mistake and the saffron party would bloom again.

Rajasthan votes on 7 December.

What happened next

The Congress won 99 of the 199 seats that voted on 7 December 2018 and the BJP 73. Ashok Gehlot became Chief Minister.

See also: Constituencies

Originally published on 1 November 2018. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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