Rajasthan: Will BJP score clean sweep a third time?

Jaipur: Going by the exit polls, the BJP might not be able to achieve a hat-trick of clean sweeps in Rajasthan. The BJP won all 25 parliamentary seats in the state in 2014 and 2019 but this time, the polls are predicting that five to seven seats might go to the opposition INDIA bloc.

The actual position will be known on Tuesday when the counting of votes takes place.

Voting for the 25 parliamentary constituencies in Rajasthan was held in two phases on April 19 and 26.

Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said the votes will be counted at 29 designated centres under strict security measures. He said postal ballots will be counted first, followed by votes from the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

Amid the heightened anticipation fuelled by the exit polls, Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra has expressed confidence in securing 12 to 13 seats. This includes Bharatpur, the hometown of Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma.

Sharma, however, has maintained the BJP's stance, asserting that his party will win all 25 seats.

The outcome of prominent leaders such as Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kailash Chaudhary will also be decided in the counting process.

A notable contender is former chief minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot, who contested from the Jalore-Sirohi seat where his father has significant support.

Rajasthan witnessed fierce electoral battles in around 10 seats. The Congress has forged alliances with the CPI(M) in Sikar and the RLP in Nagaur while supporting the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) in Banswara-Dungarpur.

In contrast, the BJP contested all 25 seats independently.

Seats like Kota, Jalore, Sikar, Nagaur, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Tonk-Sawaimadhopur, Barmer, Banswara and Jodhpur have become focal points of intense competition, testing the credibility of senior leaders.

In Kota, Birla faces direct competition from the Congress' Prahlad Gunjal. Jodhpur witnessed a contest between fresh face Karan Singh Uchiyarda, a Sachin Pilot loyalist, and Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

In the Barmer constituency, Independent candidate Ravindra Singh Bhati challenged both the BJP and the Congress candidates. The BJP had fielded Union minister Kailash Chaudhary from this seat.

In Nagaur, a significant showdown unfolded between two prominent Jat leaders, Congress ally Hanuman Beniwal of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party and the BJP's Jyoti Mirdha, a former Congress MP.

Union minister Meghwal contested against Congress candidate and former minister Govind Ram Meghwal in Bikaner.

In Churu, the Congress fielded Rahul Kaswan, a two-time BJP MP who switched allegiance following differences with senior party leader Rajendra Rathore, against the BJP's Devendra Jhajhadia, a Paralympic gold medallist.

Adhering to the Election Commission's directives, the poll authority in the state has implemented stringent security measures and appointed micro- and counting observers at all centres.