While nine wards have been allotted for repolling, the results declared on Monday highlights that the Independents have emerged as clear players.
The BJP won 4,179 wards of the 10,244 wards across 309 urban local bodies, the Congress 3,613 and Independents 2,273.The RLP won 63 wards, AAP 42, CPI(M) 38, BSP 19 and Bharat Adivasi Party eight.
A public notice was issued by the State Election Commission (SEC) on Tuesday for election of mayors and chairpersons in 305 of the state’s 309 urban local bodies.
The process has been held back in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota municipal corporations and Suket municipality in Kota district, where repolling at 10 booths will be held on September 16 following technical problems in EVMs during counting.
The repoll involves nine wards namely, four in Jaipur, one in Jodhpur, three in Kota and one in Suket.Voting will be held from 7 am to 6 pm on Wednesday and the votes will be counted on September 17.
The SEC said complaints of technical problems in EVMs were received during counting at the affected polling stations.
The commission found, after examining reports from the district election officers and returning officers, that the number of votes affected by the technical problems was greater than the winning margin and ordered repolling.
An important point to note is that the pending results cannot alter the BJP’s majority in Jaipur and Kota municipal corporations since the party has already crossed the halfway mark in both.
The BJP and Congress have won 44 wards each in the 100-member Jodhpur municipal corporation. Independents have won 10 and RLP one, while one ward remains undecided.
While the remaining result cannot give either the BJP or Congress an outright majority in Jodhpur, the Independents will remain crucial to the mayoral arithmetic.
A close BJP-Congress contest is also playing out in Suket municipality in Kota district, where both parties have won 10 wards each, among which Independents have won four in the 25-member body and one ward remains undecided.
Overall, the BJP’s lead over Congress stands at 566 wards. The results at the local individual urban bodies present a more fragmented picture, resulting in making the election of mayors and chairpersons the next key stage of the civic polls.
Among the 10 municipal corporations, the BJP has secured a clear majority in four, namely Jaipur, Udaipur, Kota and Bhilwara. Meanwhile Congress has won a majority in Bikaner.
The BJP and Congress have split the gains in Rajasthan’s urban local body elections, but neither party has managed to secure a majority in Ajmer, Alwar, Jodhpur and Pali. Independents, meanwhile, have made a strong showing, particularly in Bharatpur, where they dominate the 65-member municipal corporation.
In Jaipur, the BJP has crossed the majority mark in the 150-member civic body, winning 78 wards against Congress’ 53. Independents have won 15, while results in four wards will be decided after repolling.
The BJP has also secured a majority in Kota, winning 55 of the 100 wards. Congress has won 38 and Independents four, with results in three wards still pending.
In Udaipur, the BJP won 53 of the 80 wards, well ahead of Congress’ 23. Independents secured three wards and CPI(M) one.
The BJP also won a clear majority in Bhilwara, taking 45 of the 70 wards. Congress won 10 and Independents 15.
Bikaner, however, went the other way, with Congress securing a clear majority after winning 42 of the 80 wards. The BJP won 27, Independents 10 and RLP one.
Ajmer saw Congress emerge as the largest party with 37 of the 80 wards, followed by the BJP with 32 and Independents with 11. Congress, however, fell four short of the majority mark of 41.
Congress also emerged as the largest party in Pali, the hometown of BJP state president Madan Rathore. It won 29 of the 65 wards, while the BJP secured 21 and Independents 15.
In Alwar, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 28 of the 65 wards. Congress won 23, Independents 13 and BSP one, leaving the civic body without a clear majority.
One of the most notable results came from Bharatpur, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma’s hometown. Independents won 36 of the 65 wards in the municipal corporation, while the BJP won 20 and Congress seven. BSP and RLP secured one ward each.
The strong showing by Independents was not limited to Bharatpur city. They also dominated several other urban local bodies across the district, winning 22 of 35 wards in Bayana, 22 of 25 in Bhusawar, 25 of 35 in Nadbai, 14 of 25 in Roopwas, 13 of 25 in Uchhain and 20 of 25 in Veir.
The trend continued in neighbouring Deeg district, where Independents secured a majority of seats in all six urban local bodies.
Congress, meanwhile, performed strongly in Jhalawar district, winning 29 of the 45 wards in Jhalawar Municipal Council and securing a clear majority in an area considered a political stronghold of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje.
The party also won majorities in other urban bodies in the district, taking 26 of 40 wards in Bhawani Mandi, 14 of 20 in Dag and 18 of 25 in Khanpur.
The BJP retained its hold over Jhalrapatan municipality, however, winning 22 of the 35 wards. Congress won eight and AAP five. Raje, a two-time chief minister, represents Jhalrapatan in the state Assembly.
The BJP also secured a majority in Aklera municipality in Jhalawar district, winning 25 of the 35 wards.
The AAP made its mark in Baran Municipal Council, where it won 31 of the 60 wards to secure a majority. Congress won 18, the BJP nine and Independents two.
In Bikaner’s Nokha municipality, CPI(M) secured a clear majority by winning 29 of the 45 wards. The BJP won 13 and Independents three, while Congress failed to win a single ward.
Chief Minister Sharma described the BJP’s performance as a “historic victory”, saying the verdict reflected people’s faith in the party’s development model.
Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra, however, claimed that the BJP’s lead over Congress in vote share was less than one percentage point and alleged that irregular delimitation of wards benefited the ruling party.
The mayors and chairpersons of the 305 urban bodies covered by the State Election Commission’s public notice issued on Tuesday will be elected on September 21. Elections for deputy mayors, deputy chairpersons and municipal vice-presidents will be held on September 22.
The SEC said public notices for the election of heads in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota and Suket will be issued after repolling on September 16 and counting on September 17.
The elections covered 309 urban local bodies across Rajasthan, including 10 municipal corporations.
In the previous municipal election cycle, held between November 2019 and February 2021, Rajasthan had 196 urban local bodies. After the election of mayors and chairpersons, Congress headed 123 bodies, the BJP 64, while Independents and others controlled nine.
(With PTI inputs)
