Jaipur: Non-believers may call it a coincidence but there are rumours of witchcraft, ghosts, or even ‘vastu dosh’ in Rajasthan Assembly building — in the last nearly two decades, it has never happened that all 200 MLAs have simultaneously finished their five-year terms.
This has been due to the deaths of several sitting legislators before completion of their terms at various points in time or due to election of a sitting MLA to Parliament.
The recent death of Sahada Assembly MLA Kailash Trivedi is a case in point. The House strength has now been again reduced to 199 MLAs.
Interestingly, it is not the first time that the figure has gone below 200. This trend has been witnessed since 2001 when the Assembly was shifted to a new building. Earlier, the Assembly was convened in the old city of Jaipur.
Soon after the Assembly shifted to the new building, then MLAs Bhimsen Chaudhary and Bhikha Bhai died. In 2002, Congress MLA Kishan Motwani and BJP MLA Jagat Singh Daima passed away.
In 2003, MLA Rooplal Meena died while in 2004, then Minister in the Gehlot government Ram Singh Vishnoi passed away. Similarly, in 2006, MLAs Arun Singh and Nathuram Ahari breathed their last.
The Assembly terms from 2008 to 2013 brought troubled times for sitting MLAs in one or the other form and the situation repeated itself from 2013 to 2018. In 2017, Mandalgarh MLA Kirti Kumari passed away while Nathdwara MLA Kalyan Singh died in February 2018.
In April 2018, Mundawar legislator Dharmapal Chaudhary passed away.
Even during Assembly election campaign in 2018, BSP candidate Laxman Singh from Ramgarh seat died and hence voting was held for 199 segments only. Eventually, only 199 MLAs were in the House when the first session of the Assembly was held.
In by-election for the Ramgarh seat, Congress’ Safiya won but by then, Hanuman Beniwal of the National Democratic Alliance reached Parliament after winning the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Thus, the number of MLAs in Rajasthan Assembly was reduced again to 199.
With MLA Trivedi’s demise, the number has gone down to 199 once again.
There have been talks among MLAs about ghosts and witchcraft for the last many years.
During the 15th Vidhan Sabha session, MLA Kalulal Gurjar had demanded ‘purification’ of the Assembly premises by conducting a ‘yajna’ or by sprinkling Gangajal. MLA Habeeburehman had also claimed the presence of ghosts in the Assembly complex for the number of MLAs falling below 200.
