On poll eve, Cong clock ticks away for BJP govt in Rajasthan

JAIPUR: On the eve Rajasthan assembly elections, while contenders across parties on Thursday moved door to door to reach out to voters, a ''countdown clock'' put up at the Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters here last year has turned out to be a major attraction.

Yash Goyal
Jaipur, December 6

On the eve Rajasthan assembly elections, while contenders across parties on Thursday moved door to door to reach out to voters, a 'countdown clock' put up at the Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters here last year has turned out to be a major attraction.

The digital clock was installed at PCC office on the fourth anniversary of the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government. The clock is keeping Congress leaders and workers enthused as the party is confident of forming next government with a comfortable majority.

Even those passing by the Congress office look at the digital clock - that "counts BJP government's time to the last second" - with amazement.

Brushing aside the BJP's claim to get an absolute majority after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah's thunderous rallies and road shows, Satyendra Raghav, a PCC spokesman, said, "When people have made up their mind to change the ruler, the so-called heavy campaign would not cut much ice now."

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and her main rival Manvendra Singh were busy whole day in door to door contact with the voters in selected areas of Jhalarapatan seat. Congress' probable CM face and PCC president Sachin Pilot and former CM Ashok Gehlot were making last-ditch efforts to woo voters in their constituencies of Tonk and Saradarpur (Jodhpur), respectively, since 8 am.

BJP's special media dome set up a month ago in Civil Lines in the bungalow of a party MLA, hailing from royal family, wore a deserted look as there was no press conference today and neither was there crowd of party workers. A tent decorator would dismantle the entire dome and luncheon area by tomorrow, a party spokesman said.

While there was thin presence of party workers at the BJP headquarters, only party's administration wing people were seen guessing the victory numbers and taking feedback from their block level workers and IT wing 'cyber yodhas'.

A BJP spokesman told The Tribune that after a solid campaigning by the PM and Amit Shah "BJP ka ab soopara saaf nahin hoga. Party ko kareeb 80 se 120 seats milni chahiye" (BJP will not be wiped out. Party should get 80 to 120 seats out of 200 seats).

Secretariat and other government offices also registered poor attendance as employees are on election duty.