Rajasthan
In a setback for BJP, Rajasthan Minister Surendrapal Singh loses to Congress rival in key by-election
Jaipur/IBNS: In a setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Rajasthan's Karanpur by-poll, Congress candidate Rupinder Singh Kooner defeated the saffron party's Surenderpal Singh on Monday.
Congress's Rupinder Singh won the by-poll by a margin of 11,284 as he secured 94,950 votes.
Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot congratulated Kooner for emerging victorious.
In a statement on Monday, Gehlot said, "The people of Srikaranpur have defeated the pride of the BJP. The public has taught a lesson to the BJP, which flouted the code of conduct and morality by making its candidate a minister during the elections."
Despite being the BJP candidate for the Karanpur by-poll, Surenderpal Singh was appointed as a minister in the recent expansion of the Bhajanlal government on Dec 30.
The Congress raised objections, citing a violation of the code of conduct, as Singh assumed ministerial duties while still being a candidate for the Assembly by-poll.
People of Rajasthan initially went to vote in 199 of the 200 assembly seats on Nov 25, with the Karanpur constituency's elections postponed due to the untimely demise of Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Kooner.
Gurmeet's passing, just ten days before the state went to the polls, prompted the Congress to field his son, Rupinder Singh, in the Karanpur by-poll, aiming to secure sympathy votes.
In the larger context, the BJP in Rajasthan emerged victorious in the assembly election by securing 115 seats out of 199, while the Congress claimed 69 seats.
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