Congress finishes on top in Rajasthan panchayat samiti bypolls; wins 39 seats, BJP bags 29.

Jaipur: After failing to win even a single seat in the recently held Lok Sabha poll, the ruling Congress in Rajasthan performed very well in the panchayat samiti and zila parishad bypolls, held in 26 of 33 districts in the state. The bypolls were held on June 30.

Of the 74 panchayat samiti seats, the results of which were declared on Tuesday, the Congress managed to win 39, while BJP ended at second place with 29 seats. Six seats were won by independent candidates. A total of 15 candidates, including eight from the Congress, two from the BJP and five independents were elected unopposed.

In the zila parishad bypolls, the Congress bagged seven of the nine seats, while the BJP managed to claim only one seat. The remaining one seat was won by an independent candidate. No candidate contested from Jhadol panchayat samiti in Udaipur and the seat remained vacant. The names of elected 48 sarpanches from 22 districts were announced by Election Commission in the evening.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed happiness over the results and thanked the Congress leaders and workers for the emphatic performance of the party.

State Congress president and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot also welcomed the results, saying by voting for the Congress people had once again shown their faith in the grand old party. “It marks the reposing of the faith of people in the Congress Party. Bypolls were conducted across the state. I thank all party workers and supporters,” he said.