Jaipur: Elections held in 309 urban local bodies recorded an overall voter turnout of 73.5%, marking a 1.72 percentage-point increase over the 71.8% polling recorded in the previous election, according to data released Saturday by the State Election Commission.Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC), which recorded the lowest turnout among municipal corporations, saw an improvement with polling rising to 63.5% from 58% in the previous election held during the Covid in 2020.The increase was recorded in both phases of the elections, with turnout in the first phase rising from 74.7% to 76.4%, while polling in the second phase went up from 67.9% to 71.6% compared with the corresponding urban local bodies in the previous election.Among the 10 municipal corporations, Bharatpur municipal corporation recorded the highest turnout at 73.6%, followed by Jodhpur municipal corporation at 72% and Pali at 71%. Udaipur municipal corporation recorded 69.7% turnout, Bikaner 69%, Kota 67.6%, Alwar 65.7%, while Ajmer and Bhilwara recorded 63.8% each. JMC, at 63.5%, registered the lowest turnout among the corporations.The increase in turnout came despite Jaipur continuing to lag other major urban centres. Former minister and Congress functionary Pratap Singh Khachariyawas attributed the relatively low turnout in Jaipur to an “anti-BJP undercurrent”, claiming that fewer people came out to vote because of it.He also said Jaipur had historically witnessed comparatively lower voter participation, suggesting that the turnout pattern was not unusual for the city.
