Raje wins Jhalrapatan but with less victory margin

KOTA : In Jhalrapatan, which was pitched as the most highprofile battle, chief minister Vasundhara Raje defeated her former colleague and Congress candidate Manvendra Singh by a margin of 34,980 votes, winning the seat for the fourth straight term. Raje, who has been winning the seat since 2003, secured 1,16,484 votes as against Singh’s 81,504 votes. The constituency polled a total of 2,15,309 votes. Raje’s margin of victory (34,980 votes) this time, however, was less than the previous elections (60,896 votes) but more than the two before that — 32,581 votes in 2008 polls and a margin of 27,375 votes in 2003 polls. In all three previous elections, her nearest rival was a Congress candidate. Independent candidate Shreelal Dangi got 7,490 votes while 3,125 voters chose NOTA option. Manvendra Singh was BJP MLA from Sheo constituency in Barmer but joined the Congress in September.