Jaipur: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asserted its dominance in the Rajasthan urban local body elections on Monday, securing a victory in five municipal corporations. The opposition Congress managed to claim a clear mandate in only one corporation, while a hung situation emerged in four other municipal bodies.
The saffron party swept the high-stakes Jaipur Municipal Corporation, winning 78 out of 150 wards, with the Congress trailing behind at 52 seats. However, in a notable setback for the ruling party in the state capital, all eight Muslim candidates fielded by the BJP in Muslim-dominated areas faced defeat.
Despite the BJP’s overall strong performance, the Congress pulled off a massive upset in Jhalawar, the political stronghold of former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. The Congress breached the BJP fortress by winning 29 out of 45 seats in the Jhalawar Municipal Council, reducing the BJP to a mere 13 seats. The grand old party also registered a strong performance in Tonk, the bastion of Congress leader Sachin Pilot.
Across other major cities, the BJP registered decisive victories in Udaipur (53 out of 80 seats), Bhilwara (45 of 70), Alwar (28 of 65), and established a clear lead in Kota. The Congress emerged as the single-largest party in Ajmer (37 of 80 seats), Pali (29 of 65 seats), and secured a comfortable majority in Bikaner with 42 out of 80 seats.
Jodhpur witnessed a nail-biting, neck-and-neck battle, with both the BJP and Congress tied at 44 seats each out of the 99 wards declared. Meanwhile, Bharatpur delivered a massive surprise, where independent candidates dominated the mandate, winning 38 of the 65 seats, pushing the BJP and Congress to the margins with 20 and seven seats, respectively.
Amid the counting process, the State Election Commission announced the postponement of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor elections in the Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Kota municipal corporations, as well as the Suket municipality. The delay was prompted by technical glitches in EVMs at certain booths. Re-polling at 10 affected polling stations will take place on September 16, with the votes to be counted on September 17.
Celebrating the mandate, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma expressed his gratitude to the voters, stating that the public has overwhelmingly endorsed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ and ‘Viksit Rajasthan’. Shortly after the results were declared, CM Sharma was summoned to New Delhi by the BJP high command for a meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning.