After taking a solo path in the upcoming Assembly elections, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) vice-president Dungarram Gedar announced that their party will contest on all the 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan. The state will go for polls on December 7 and the results will be announced on December 11.
It is to be known that in the Assembly elections in 2013, BSP won only three seats in the state, even though they contested in 195 seats. In the polls, the party secured 3.37 per cent vote share, compared to 7.60 per cent in the 2008-elections. That time it had won six seats.
Announcing the party’s decision, Gedar stated, as reported by Indian Express, “Our preparations are in full swing and we will contest on all 200 seats in the forthcoming elections.” Adding more, he said that the final list of candidates will be announced soon and thereafter the Mayawati will start addressing electoral rallies in the state.
Another BSP leader Bhagwan Singh said, as quoted by the daily, “We are expecting to increase our tally in the 2018-elections because people are unhappy with both the BJP and the Congress. There is a resentment against the ruling BJP and people are not seeing any hope in the Congress.” He also stated, “The BSP is contesting solo and the Congress is going to suffer a loss.” Rajasthan has 34 SC and 25 ST seats out of the total 200 seats.
Bharatpur, Dholpur, Karauli, Sawaimadhopur, Alwar and in northern parts like Hanumangarh, Sriganganagar, Bikaner have a sizable number of Scheduled Castes (SC) population, considered to the vote bank for the party. In the state, there are 34 SC and 25 ST seats out, of the total 200 seats.
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