Sardarpura Constituency | People say even BJP workers will vote for Ashok Gehlot; praise his government’s schemes
The Hindu
“Here not only the Congress, BJP workers too vote for Gehlot,” said Hardev Ram Bishnoi in Sardarpura constituency, a long-standing bastion of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. “In Sardarpura, we vote for the Chief Minister and not just an MLA,” Mr. Bishnoi added, confident of a sixth encore by Mr. Gehlot in the coming State polls.
"Here not only the Congress, BJP workers too vote for Gehlot," said Hardev Ram Bishnoi in Sardarpura constituency, a long-standing bastion of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
"In Sardarpura, we vote for the Chief Minister and not just an MLA," Mr. Bishnoi added, confident of a sixth encore by Mr. Gehlot in the coming State polls.
Mr. Bishnoi is not the only one to hold fast the belief that Mr. Gehlot is invincible from the constituency. The narrow, quaint lanes, though well-lit, of Mahamandir area where he sits, teem with his supporters.
Mr. Bishnoi was found chatting with a group of friends for 'hatai,' a daily meeting point for people in the neighbourhood for evening discussions and game of cards. The group sitting in the fading light was unanimous in its opinion.
Surendra Bhati, another man from the group, lauded the development work done in Jodhpur and the schemes of the Gehlot government. "Over the years, Jodhpur has got top institutes such as AIIMS, IIT, NIFT, a law university … better roads and infrastructure." Jodhpur is long known by one man and it is Ashok Gehlot. He represented the Jodhpur Lok Sabha seat five times between 1980 and 1998 before switching to state politics. Since then, he has gone on to become MLA from Sardarpura five times and Chief Minister of Rajasthan thrice.
For the past two Lok Sabha elections, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has been representing the Jodhpur seat, but when it comes to Sardarpur Assembly, Mr. Gehlot's influence is clear. His margin of victory since 2008 has increased with every Assembly election.
In 2008, he beat the BJP candidate, his closest rival, by more than 15,000 votes, which increased to 18,478 votes in 2013, and to a historic high of 45,597 in 2018.
The Opposition Congress demanded that the government open the Gandhi Vatika Museum, depicting Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy and freedom struggle, built at a cost of ₹85 crore in Jaipur’s Central Park last year, during the Congress-led regime in Rajasthan. The museum has not been opened to the public, reportedly because of the administration’s engagements with the State Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Almaya Munnettam (Lay People to the Fore), group in the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church opposed to the synod-recommended Mass, rejected a circular issued by Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil and apostolic administrator Bosco Puthur on June 9 to implement the unified Mass in the archdiocese from July 3.
Pakistan coach Gary Kirsten stated that “not so great decision making” contributed to his side’s defeat to India in the Group-A T20 World Cup clash here on Sunday. The batting unit came apart in the chase, after being well placed at 72 for two. With 48 runs needed from eight overs, Pakistan found a way to panic and lose. “Maybe not so great decision making,” Kirsten said at the post-match press conference, when asked to explain the loss.