Kota village Madanpura to boycott Rajasthan assembly election over lack of development

With the Rajasthan assembly election little more than a month away, residents of Madanpura village in Kota district have decided to stay away from the polls, citing a lack of development and basic amenities. A banner in the village, in the Khatoli area of the Pipalda assembly constituency, declares: “Vikas nahi to vote nahi” (no development, no vote).

Villagers’ complaints

Villager Shambhu Kumar said no roads or drains had been built in the past three years, and residents were pursuing a court case over encroachment on pasture land. Without roads and drains, mud collected in many places and conditions had become unhygienic, he said.

Jagdish Keer, another resident, said these spots had become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and sources of fungal and bacterial infections, but the administration showed no concern. Poor families, he added, had still not been sanctioned houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Mangilal, a third villager, said residents had not benefited from the Centre’s Ujjwala scheme for free LPG connections, and that because nothing had been done for three to four years, they would not vote.

The village has around 500 voters, mostly from the Kewat and Keer communities.

The land dispute

Village sarpanch Ruchita Kumari said a large part of the government land in the village had been allotted to a private contractor and businessman from the Khatoli area. Residents had lived on the disputed land for 70 years, she said, but the businessman obtained a court stay on land conversion and development in 2013, after which work stopped. Because of the dispute, neither toilets under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan nor houses under the PM Awas Yojana could be provided, she said.

What happened next

In the December 2018 election, Congress won 99 of the 199 seats that voted and Ashok Gehlot became Chief Minister.

See also: Constituencies

Originally published on 2 November 2018. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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