Kota: Amid the ongoing counting of votes for the Lok Sabha election 2024, Lok Sabha Speaker and BJP candidate for the prestigious Kota-Bundi seat, Om Birla has won the seat by over 41000 votes against Congress candidate Prahlad Gunjal.
As per the ECI's latest data, Birla secured 750496 votes while his nearest rival Gunjal had secured 708522 votes giving a winning lead of 41974 to Birla. BSP's Dhanraj Yadav was a distant third securing 7575 votes.
Taking to X over his win, Birla wrote in a post, "Heartfelt thanks to the family members of Kota-Bundi for once again providing their love and blessings during the Lok Sabha elections".
Kota: (Incumbent MP: Om Birla - BJP - Lok Sabha Speaker)
Kota Lok Sabha seat of Rajasthan is seen as a high-profile hot seat in the Lok Sabha election 2024 where Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is eyeing a hat trick of victories. Winning the seat will determine Om Birla's political future. However, Birla faces a tough competition from rival candidate Prahlad Gunjal.
Kota Lok Sabha constituency comprises eight assembly segments--Keshoraipatan, Bundi, Pipalda, Sangod, Kota, North Kota, South Kota, Ladpura, Ramganj, and Mandi and covers the entire of Kota district and parts of Bundi district of Rajasthan.
While Birla is seeking a third term to extend his rising vote share since the 2014 general election, Congress aims to wrest the seat while banking on an anti-incumbency wave against Birla. However, ahead of the Lok Sabha election 2024 results, Congress candidate Prahlad Gunjal suffered a setback after the Rajasthan Police booked him on charges of theft, trespass and encroachment of public land in a case of alleged illegal mining.
A joint team of police and forest department recovered 955 tonnes of stone, an excavator and a dumper were seized from a stone crusher unit, operated by Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Kota Gunjal near Bawadikheda and Kolana villages, they said.
2024 Polling: Kota Lok Sabha seat of Rajasthan went to the polls in the 2nd phase of Lok Sabha election 2024 and recorded a voter turnout of 71.26 percent according to the Election Commission of India.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, sitting MP and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla retained the seat with a huge margin of 279,677 votes against Congress candidate Ramnarain Meena. In the 2014 general election, Birla defeated Congress' Ijyaraj Singh by 200,782 votes in the Kota seat.
