2018 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election

← 2013 7 December 2018 (199 seats) 28 January 2019 (1 seat) 2023 →
200 seats in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly 101 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	74.72% ( 0.95%)
First party Second party   Leader Ashok Gehlot Vasundhara Raje Party INC BJP Alliance UPA NDA Leader since 1998 2003 Leader's seat Sardarpura (won) Jhalrapatan (won) Last election 21 163 Seats after 100 73 Seat change 79 90 Popular vote 13,935,201 13,757,502 Percentage 39.30% 38.08% Swing 6.23% 6.37%
Chief Minister before election Vasundhara Raje BJP Elected Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot INC

Legislative Assembly elections were held in the Indian state of Rajasthan on 7 December 2018. The Indian National Congress became the single largest party with 100 seats, short of the majority by 1 seat. The Bharatiya Janata Party won 73 seats, much lower compared to the previous election, in which it won an absolute majority of 163 seats. The Indian National Congress formed the government with the Bahujan Samaj Party.^[1]

Background

The tenure of the Rajasthan Assembly ended on 20 January 2019.^[2] The main political contenders are the BJP, INC, BSP and the RLP. Most of the by-elections preceding the election were won by the Indian National Congress. There was a lot of anti-incumbency and infighting in the BJP government, which eventually led to a Congress victory.^[3]

Schedule

The date of the election was 7 December 2018, and the result was announced on 11 December 2018.^[4]

Opinion polls

Exit polls

The exit polls gave a clear edge to the Indian National Congress.

Results

The seat and vote share were as follows:^[7][8]

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Won	+/−
	Indian National Congress	13,935,201	39.30%	6.23	100	79
	Bharatiya Janata Party	13,757,502	38.77%	6.40	73	90
	Independents	3,372,206	9.5%	1.29	13	6
	Bahujan Samaj Party	1,410,995	4.03%	0.63	6	3
	Rashtriya Loktantrik Party	856,038	2.4%	New	3	3
	Communist Party of India (Marxist)	434,210	1.2%	0.33	2	2
	Bharatiya Tribal Party	255,100	0.7%	New	2	2
	Rashtriya Lok Dal	116,320	0.3%	0.29	1	1
	Other parties and candidates (OTH)	887,317	2.5%	0.00	0	0
	None of the Above	467,781	1.3%
Total		35,672,912	100.00		200	±0
Valid votes		35,672,912	99.91
Invalid votes		33,814	0.09
Votes cast / turnout		35,706,726	74.72
Abstentions		12,083,240	25.28
Registered voters		47,789,966

Region-wise

Region	Seats	Indian National Congress		Bharatiya Janata Party		Others
Marwar	46	24	19	17	23	5
Bagar	21	9	8	9	7	3
Harouti	57	35	27	10	34	12
Shekhawati	16	12	1	2	3	2
Mewar	60	21	17	35	20	4
Total	200	100	79	73	90	27

Elected Members

Source::^[10]

Adjourned Election