Rajasthan civic poll results: BJP ahead of Congress, Independents emerge as key force

Counting of votes for the urban local body elections in Rajasthan continued on Monday, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holding an edge over the Opposition Congress, while Independents emerged as a significant third force across the State.

According to figures available at 2.15 p.m., results had been declared for 8,787 of the 10,244 wards where counting was under way. The BJP had won 3,587 wards, the Congress 3,050 and Independents 2,024. The Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) had won 56 wards, the CPI(M) 37, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 15, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 10 and the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) eight.

The verdict in the key Municipal Corporations presented a mixed picture. The BJP secured a clear majority in the 80-member Udaipur Municipal Corporation with 53 wards, the 70-member Bhilwara with 45 wards and the 100-member Kota with 53 wards. The Congress won Bikaner and was leading in Ajmer and Pali, while the BJP was ahead in Jaipur and Alwar. Jodhpur saw a close contest, with the BJP and the Congress winning 44 wards each, alongside 10 Independents.

In the 80-ward Ajmer Municipal Corporation, the Congress won 37 wards, the BJP 32 and Independents 11. In the 65-ward Pali Municipal Corporation, the Congress won 29, the BJP 21 and Independents 15. Pali is the home town of BJP State president Madan Rathore.

Bharatpur, the home town of Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, threw up a markedly different result. Independents won or were leading in 36 of its 65 wards, against the BJP's 20 and the Congress's seven. The BSP and the RLP won one ward each.

The strong showing by Independents, who won 2,024 wards in all, could make them a potentially decisive group in several urban bodies where no single party has a clear majority. Party positions in such bodies will become clearer once the full results are declared.

A repoll has been ordered at one booth in Jaipur. Polling for the 309 urban local bodies was held in two phases, on September 9 and September 11. A total of 10,245 councillors are to be elected across 10 Municipal Corporations, 51 Municipal Councils and 248 Municipalities. More than 1.44 crore voters were eligible to cast their votes.

The results are widely viewed as a mid-term political test for the Bhajanlal Sharma-led BJP government and for the State Congress ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections. In the previous municipal cycle, held between November 2019 and February 2021, Rajasthan had 196 urban local bodies comprising 7,500 wards. After those elections, the Congress controlled 123 of the 196 bodies and the BJP 64, while Independents and other parties headed nine.

Mayors and Chairpersons are scheduled to be elected on September 21, followed by Deputy Mayors, Deputy Chairpersons and Municipal Vice-Presidents on September 22. The final composition of several civic bodies may depend on the decisions of elected Independents and on any post-poll arrangements between parties, which will be watched closely in the run-up to the next Assembly elections.