Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union minister for Law and Justice, was leading from Rajasthan’s Bikaner constituency in the Lok Sabha election, results for which are being announced on Tuesday.Early elections results showed that the BJP leader’s closest rival for the seat was Govindram Meghwal of the INC party with a margin of 12,092 votes according to the ECI at 10:30 am. The last time a non-BJP candidate won in the Bikaner Lok Sabha Constituency was in 1999 when Rameshwar Lal Dudi of the Congress defeated Rampratap Kasania of the BJP.
In 2019 Arjun Ram Meghwal defeated Congress candidate Madan Gopal Meghawal with a 59.82% vote share. The runner-up had a vote share of 35.8%
If Meghwal wins in the 2024 election, this would be the fourth time he would be entering the Lok Sabha from Bikaner. He had previously won in 2014 and 2009 also, both victories against Congress candidates.A former bureaucrat in the Rajasthan government Bikaner-born Meghwal started his political journey after voluntary retirement in 2009. He was the BJP’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha in 2014.
The constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, recorded a voting percentage of 53.96 in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
According to data from the Election Commission as of 10:36 am, the NDA alliance was emerging as the biggest bloc in the Lok Sabha, with leads or wins in 292 seats. A party or an alliance requires 273 seats for a majority in the lower house of Parliament.
The Lok Sabha polls for 543 seats were held in seven phases starting from April 19, with the last phase on June 1. The Bharatiya Janata Party is seeking a rare third term at the Centre with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.
