Congress storms back to power
What happened
Indian National Congress returned to power in Rajasthan, defeating Bharatiya Janata Party's government in a landslide result.
It won 153 of the 200 seats on offer.
That left it 52 seats clear of a majority.
INC took 76.5% of the seats on 45.0% of the vote.
BJP collapsed to 33 seats on 33.2% of the vote.
The campaign
On 26 September 1998 the Election Commission announced that Rajasthan would vote on 25 November, with counting set for 28 November, alongside simultaneous elections in Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Mizoram.1
On 18 October, BJP national president Kushabhau Thakre said Bhairon Singh Shekhawat would continue as the party's Chief Minister after the coming election, even without a formal chief-ministerial nomination before polling.2
On 5 November, Shekhawat filed his nomination papers from Bali and Congress's Nawal Kishore Sharma filed from Jaipur Gramin, the two parties' rival chief-ministerial claimants, with both parties still finalising their full slate of candidates that afternoon.3
As campaigning closed on 23 November, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee addressed a rally at Hanumangarh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi addressed a rally in Jaipur, while rebel candidates made contests triangular in 20 to 25 assembly segments.4
- 1Election Commission Announces Rajasthan Poll Schedule — Election Commission of India press release, 26 September 1998 (PIB archive), 1998 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election
- 2BJP Reaffirms Shekhawat as Its Rajasthan Chief Ministerial Face — The Tribune, Jaipur dateline, 19 October 1998 ("Shekhawat to be BJP's CM candidate")
- 3Shekhawat and Congress's Nawal Kishore Sharma File Nomination Papers — The Tribune, Jaipur dateline, 6 November 1998, The Tribune, Jaipur dateline, 6 November 1998
- 4Vajpayee and Sonia Gandhi Campaign as Rajasthan Voting Nears, Rebels Make Contests Triangular — The Tribune, Jaipur dateline, 24 November 1998, The Tribune, Jaipur dateline, 24 November 1998
What changed
Rajasthan's two largest parties swapped places again, and the movement between them ran deep across the state.
The single biggest movement ran from BJP to INC, covering 76 of the 122 seats compared.
INC itself grew from 76 seats to 153 seats this time — its best showing in the state to date.
Turnout, the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot, rose +3.1 pp from the previous election, the highest the state had recorded to that point.
Notable numbers
The closest race was at Sangaria, Rajasthan, decided by 79 votes.
Gudamalani, Rajasthan was the most one-sided result of the count, a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of 54.3%.
Karanpur, Rajasthan recorded the highest turnout of any seat, at 77.3%.
Bani Park, Rajasthan was the largest constituency by registered voters, with 3,68,861 on its rolls.
Alwar, Rajasthan drew the most candidates of any seat, 18 names on the ballot.
Statewide turnout reached 62.5%, the highest Rajasthan had recorded in an assembly election to that point.
The backdrop
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat became Rajasthan's first non-Congress Chief Minister on 22 June 1977, after the Janata Party's win that year.5
His government was dismissed in 1980, and he returned as Chief Minister from 1990 to 1992 and again from 1993 until this election, by then leading the Bharatiya Janata Party.5
- 5Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Becomes Rajasthan's First Non-Congress Chief Minister — Bhairon Singh Shekhawat ministry (1977–80), Bhairon Singh Shekhawat