The 2018 assembly elections will not merely be known for the Congress’s victory but for some nail-biting and thrilling contests. The contest for the Malviya Nagar seat between BJP candidate Kalicharan Saraf and the Congress’s Archana Sharma was full of suspense and thrill.A similar contest was witnessed between Amin Kagzi of the Congress and ML Gupta of the BJP for Kishanpole. Despite ups and downs in the contest that was concluded after 18 rounds, Saraf had the last laugh, with a winning margin of 1,701 votes . Many, however, showed their sympathy for Archana Sharma, who put up a tough fight.In the morning, Saraf rushed to the counting centre at Commerce College when his supporters informed him that he was trailing by 113 votes after the first round. He rushed to the counting centre and sat on a chair patiently. Both Archana and Kalicharan looked tense as the counting proceeded. “Bhai saab kuch bhi ho sakta hai (Anything can happen),” a man standing on the gate quipped.After the second round, Archana heaved a sigh of little relief as her leading margin rose to 888. Kalicharan, while trying to hide his nervousness, started enquiring about other results, including that of Vasundhara Raje in Jhalrapatan and Gulab Chand Kataria of Udaipur city. By the end of the third round, Saraf was leading by nearly 3,000 votes. “Achcha chal raha hai par main jeetunga (It is going good but I will win),” he said.It was after the 18th round that Saraf won with a margin of 1,701 votes. Archana had left after the 16th round itself. “A victory is a victory,” Saraf said. Trying to hold her tears, Archana, said, “I believe the votes of Jhalana Kachi Basti went against us and those were decisive.”A similar roller-coaster saw BJP stalwart Mohan Lal Gupta and Amin Kagzi of the Congress contesting each other at Kishanpole. At one time, Kagzi was leading by 9,544 votes but in the ninth round, his lead had reduced to 109. But, from the 10th round, Gupta had started gaining the lead. Gupta was 7,195 votes ahead in the 13th round. Both candidates had started calculating how many votes were remaining and which way they could go. In the end, Kagzi was declared victorious with a margin of 9,848 votes.

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