BJP’s defeat in Anta bypoll foments dissent with questions over campaign strategy

The defeat of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the Assembly bye-election in Anta in Rajasthan has increased dissent as questions have arisen over the party’s campaign strategy. Party insiders feel that senior leaders of the Hadoti district have been sidelined and the underlying facts have been ignored.

The Opposition Congress wrested the seat from the BJP as a result of the general election declared on November 14, in which former Minister Pramod Jain defeated Morpal Suman by 15,612 votes. While the Congress feels confident after the victory, negotiations within the BJP are centering on factionalism, infighting and lack of coordination among leaders.

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Seven-time BJP MLA and senior leader of Hadoti district in southeast Rajasthan, Pratap Singh Singhvi, blamed former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and the party leadership for the loss. Mr. Singhvi said the BJP’s campaign “lacked unifying and collective efforts” and the top leadership ignored the contribution of party workers.

“For the first time, MLAs were given prominence in events like Ms. Raje’s roadshows and [Chief Minister] “Bhajan Lal Sharma, but I was neither invited nor given any responsibility. Chhabra MLA regretted that senior leaders were ignored and local issues affecting the voters were not addressed effectively,” Mr. Singhvi told reporters in Jaipur.

Ahead of the November 11 election, Mr Singhvi had written to BJP national president JP Nadda complaining about the “mistreatment” meted out to him. He said that as the offer of land support was ignored, party workers were demoralized and the party machinery in the constituency was weakened.

Since Anta constituency falls within Ms Raje’s core sphere of influence, adjacent to her home constituency of Jhalawar, the defeat is likely to embolden her detractors in the party and vindicate first-time MLA Mr Sharma’s claim of lack of interest after his appointment as Chief Minister. Insiders also believe that the party has failed to overcome the low profile of its candidate, Mr Suman, who is Pradhan from Baran panchayat samiti in the high-profile contest.

Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, the BJP’s Rajasthan in-charge, who arrived in Jaipur on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, to attend the upcoming “unity march” meeting, said the ruling party could have won the Anta bye election through political pressure, voter lists or administrative influence, but acted on “democratic principles” and respected people’s sentiment.

“The investigation result proved that the BJP conducted all the elections fairly and with complete integrity,” Mr. Agarwal said. He added that the BJP has won many elections across the country and has no hesitation in losing a few.

The bye election was necessitated after BJP MLA Kanwar Lal Meena was disqualified under the Representation of the People Act in May this year following his conviction in a 20-year-old criminal case. Meena, who is currently serving a three-year prison sentence, is considered close to Ms. Raje.