Bahu Vasundhara comes home

At 10 am, Ashok Gehlot confidently said the ‘‘results would be in our favour’’. He then went into a huddle inside the CM residence, only to resurface after noon, flanked by Ambika Soni, Mukul Wasnik and Ghulam Nabi Azad. Stating that he accepts the people’s verdict, Gehlot said: ‘‘We did do a lot of work, but it seems like the people had greater expectations. We hope the BJP will fulfill them and as far as we are concerned, we will play the role of a constructive Opposition.’’

Most of Gehlot’s ministers, including deputy Chief Ministers Banwari Lal Bairwa and Dr Kamla, have lost. There was a stunned silence in the deserted Congress party office as BJP gains were reported from ‘‘traditional Congress belts’’. The big losses at the BJP camp have been of former minister Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi and former deputy chief minister Hari Shankar Bhabra.

Soni blamed the defeat on the anti-incumbency factor, something that a jubilant Raje rejected. ‘‘The huge margin indicates this was not just anti-incumbency. It is a pro-development mandate,’’ she said.

As each result trickled in, Raje sloganeering employees at the Secretariat heralded the arrival of the BJP after a gap of five years. Not wanting to make any ‘‘piecemeal announcements’’ she added that the huge turnout of women was a sign that they had ‘‘turned a corner’’ and ‘‘come out of their