 "Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot inaugurates and lays the foundation stone of construction of highway projects in Rajasthan via video conference in Jaipur on Tuesday.")
Following the exit poll trends, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to secure a comfortable win in Rajasthan, winning more than 101 seats required to form government in the state. As the results concluded, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed his surprise at the outcome of the 2023 elections, but congratulated the BJP on its victory.
During the counting of votes, the Congress leader wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "We humbly accept the mandate given by the people of Rajasthan. This is an unexpected result for everyone. This defeat shows that we were not completely successful in taking our plans, laws and innovations to the public."
Ashok Gehlot will be completing his third term as the chief minister of Rajasthan. Gehlot contested the elections from Sardarpura constituency, where he has consistently won every election since 1998. In the 2023 Rajasthan elections, Gehlot contested for the sixth time and secured victory with a vote margin against BJP candidate Mahendra Singh Rathore. Despite Gehlot's win, Congress failed to win a majority in the state.
Accepting defeat but defending the Congress party's work in the state, the chief minister added, "I wish the new government all the best. My advice to them is that despite working hard, we were not successful, it does not mean that he should not work after coming to the government. All the schemes including OPS, Chiranjeevi and the pace of development that we have given to Rajasthan in these five years should be taken forward."
"I thank all the Congress workers who worked hard in this election and express my gratitude to all the voters who believed in us," he added.
According to a report by PTI, the chief minister will hand in his resignation to the governor on Sunday during a meeting at 5:30 pm.
Polling for 199 out of 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan was held on November 25 and the counting of votes was on December 3.
