People's victory, says Shekhawat

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, SEPT 22. The BJP candidate and former Rajasthan Home Minister, Mr. Kailash Meghwal, was declared elected from the Tonk (Scheduled Caste) Lok Sabha constituency today. He defeated his nearest Congress rival and Social Welfare Minister, Mr. Banwarilal Bhairwa, by a margin of 61902 votes.

The BJP retains the seat which fell vacant following the death of its MP, Mr. Shaymlal Banshiwal. The tally of Lok Sabha members from Rajasthan now remains at 16 for the BJP and nine for the Congress.

Mr. Meghwal, a close associate of the former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, Mr. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, took the lead in all eight Assembly segments of the constituency except Uniara. He polled a total of 287,818 votes against 225,916 of Mr. Bhairwa. The Independent candidate, Mr. Jagannath Morlia, polled 18,781 while the Samajwadi Party candidate, Mr. Laduram Sulania, finished fourth.

This is the second entry of Mr. Meghwal into the Lok Sabha. The first was even more spectacular when he defeated Mr. Buta Singh, the then Union Home Minister, in 1989 in Jalore.

``It is people's victory,'' a jubilant Mr. Shekhawat said in his initial reaction to the victory which is more spectacular than of 1999 when the party's winning margin was 48,358 votes, against the nearest Congress rival. The victory provoked Mr.Ghanshyam Tiwari, vice-president of the BJP, to demand the resignation of the Gehlot Government.

The Chief Minister, Mr. Ashok Gehlot, accepted the defeat as ``people's verdict'' and said the Government would look into the reasons which lead to it.

Meanwhile, the PCC president, Dr. Girija Vyas, sought a review of the working of the State Government. ``The party too would reassess itself,'' she assured.

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