Jodhpur: The suspense over BJP’s nominee for the post of mayor of the Jodhpur Municipal Corporation ended Saturday, with the party naming Prasan Chand Mehta as its candidate. The party had been considering several names for the post and sought the preferences of its councillors Friday before finalising its candidate.Mehta, who stood from ward 82 on a BJP ticket, won with 3,270 votes, defeating his Congress rival by 486 votes. After the nomination, he reached the municipal corporation office Saturday afternoon and filed his nomination for the mayoral election.A veteran BJP man with a background in the RSS, Mehta has held several organisational positions in the BJP, including district president and state vice-president. He is also considered close to former Rajasthan Assembly Speaker and Assam governor Gulab Chand Kataria.Congress has nominated Rajendra Solanki as its non-councillor mayoral candidate. He did not contest the councillor election. Solanki, a former state minister, is considered close to former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. He previously served as minister of state, chairperson of the Jodhpur Development Authority (JDA), and Leader of Opposition in the Jodhpur Municipal Corporation. Solanki also filed his nomination for the mayoral post Saturday.The mayoral contest has gained significance because of the numbers in the 100-member Jodhpur Municipal Corporation. In the initial election results, both BJP and Congress won 44 wards each. Following a repoll in ward 50, BJP won the seat, taking its councillor tally to 45.BJP subsequently claimed support of seven independent councillors, including Congress rebels Vishal Sankhla and Chetan Gehlot. The party claims that, with their support, its camp has the backing of 52 councillors, one above the majority mark of 51 in the 100-member house.
