‘Could have won using unfair means’: Amid unrest in BJP over bypoll loss, party’s Rajasthan in-charge sparks row
Ever since he took on the responsibility, Rajya Sabha MP Radha Mohan Das Agrawal has lurched from one controversy to another.
Rajya Sabha MP Radha Mohan Das Agrawal attempted to spin the bypoll loss as an example of “impartial elections” at a time when the Opposition has been accusing the BJP of “vote chori (theft)”. (File photo) 
More than a year after the BJP saw its Lok Sabha seat tally in Rajasthan drop by 10 to 14, an Assembly bypoll loss has led to murmurs within the ruling party. However, even as the party deals with the disquiet caused by the loss in Anta in Baran district, the BJP’s Rajasthan in-charge Radha Mohan Das Agrawal claimed that the party could have won the by-election “galat tareeke se (through unfair means)” if it wanted, but did not do so as it “believes in democracy”. The remarks drew an immediate backlash from the Congress.
Following the loss in Anta, seven-time BJP MLA Pratap Singh Singhvi alleged that the party had ignored him during campaigning even though his constituency, Chhabra, is also in Baran. Ahead of polling, Singhvi wrote to BJP president and Union Minister J P Nadda, complaining that he had not been included in the star campaigners list. He also alleged that though included in the poll committee for the bypoll, he was not contacted or assigned any responsibility. Singhvi’s third objection was that newspaper advertisements for CM Bhajan Lal Sharma’s rally in Baran included the photos of the other two party MLAs in Baran — Radheyshyam Bairwa and Lalit Meena — but not his.
That not all was well within the BJP in the area was apparent when ministers Hiralal Nagar and Madan Dilawar, who are from the area, did not join the campaign, which former CM Vasundhara Raje led after initial hesitation.
Rajya Sabha MP Radha Mohan Das Agrawal, meanwhile, attempted to spin the bypoll loss as an example of “impartial elections” at a time when the Opposition has been accusing the BJP of “vote chori (theft)”. The Congress’s Pramod Jain Bhaya, who represented the seat twice before, defeated the BJP’s Morpal Suman by 15,612 votes, in the process also seeing off a challenge from party rebel Naresh Meena. The BJP’s Kanwarlal Meena held the seat but was disqualified in a 20-year-old case earlier this year.
“Anta election has proved how impartial elections are conducted by the BJP. We have governments in Delhi and in Rajasthan, and for six months, we knew that elections were going to be held. If we wanted to control the election politically, on the basis of the voter list or administratively, galat tareeke se, toh Anta chunav humari jeb mein ho sakta tha (Anta election could have been in our pocket). But we respected people’s sentiment, and with complete honesty and with cent-per-cent impartiality,” Agrawal said.
He said Anta recorded 81% turnout and the result “is a big slap on the faces of those who allege vote chori … it is a win of the BJP’s principles that we believe in democracy”.
Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi said, “Radha Mohan ji is making a mockery of democracy. His comments make their intentions clear. They are talking as if they don’t have trust in the democratic process.”
“If we asked questions of EC, they were backed by evidence, but no one is giving answers for it, while BJP leaders are making such comments,” he said, adding that the “Anta bypoll results indicate failure of the double engine government, because they were saying that it will be a vote on CM’s work, but the people have rejected him”.
A man of controversies
Ever since his July 2024 appointment, Agrawal has hit discordant notes in Rajasthan, dragging in former CMs Ashok Gehlot, Vasundhara Raje, CM Bhajan Lal Sharma, Sachin Pilot, and Rajendra Rathore in his speeches. He has also faced backlash for allegedly using foul language, drawn the ire of Rajput outfits, and got ink hurled at him by suspected supporters of Pilot.
In August 2024, in his first major address after assuming charge, Agrwal questioned the absence of Rajendra Rathore, among the senior-most leaders in the state, saying, “Where has Rajendra Rathore ji gone? Look, I keep an eye on everyone aur isi bahane attendance unki bhi lag gayi (this way his attendance has been marked too). He should be asked about the reasons why he had to leave the meeting … no one is above the party.” This had sparked outrage among Rathore’s supporters and various Karni Sena outfits, which demanded an apology from the BJP leader.
In the same address, on former CM Vasundhara Raje giving the event a miss, Agrawal said the former CM had spoken to him and the state party chief about her inability to attend. With longevity often being a delicate issue for politicians, Das was anything but subtle: “When she came to Delhi day before yesterday, toh main khud dekh raha tha badi ajeeb si kamzor si lag rahi thhin (I saw for myself that she seemed unusual and weak).” He followed up his remarks by heaping praise on Raje. He also allegedly used foul language in the same address.
On another occasion, he said Congress leader Sachin Pilot’s era had ended and that he was a “spent force”. He also used derogatory language for former CM Ashok Gehlot, saying he too has gone and merely his “political kapal kriya (last rites)” remained. This led to Congress supporters burning Das’s effigies in several districts. When Youth Congress workers gheraoed his car in Udaipur and hurled ink, Das said Pilot would be held accountable if there was any danger to his life.
Around this time last year, the BJP leader referred to Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) chief and MP Hanuman Beniwal as a “rat” following the RLP’s loss in its home turf, Khinvsar, in a bypoll.
This February, the Congress walked out of the Rajya Sabha following Agrawal’s remarks about nearly two dozen illustrations by artist Nandlal Bose in the original Constitution being removed without Parliament’s approval.
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