BJP Takes Early Lead Across Nine Municipal Corporations In Rajasthan Civic Poll Count

Counting of votes for councillor posts in 309 urban local bodies across Rajasthan began on Monday under tight security. The BJP was ahead in nine municipal corporations, including Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Pali, Bhilwara, Kota, Alwar, Ajmer and Bikaner, as results came in. The early trend matters because these civic elections are being watched as a key test for the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress before the 2028 Assembly polls.

The BJP was ahead in Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Pali, Bhilwara, Kota, Alwar, Ajmer and Bikaner as counting continued. The report said the party had taken an early lead in nine municipal corporations.

The vote count follows polling held in two phases on September 9 and 11. The outcome will decide control of civic bodies across the state and offer a reading of the urban political mood nearly three years after the 2023 Assembly elections.

Congress leaders meet the District Collector over alleged discrepancies in the election results at the Bhawani Niketan College counting centre in Jaipur.

Congress leader Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said, "Durgesh Sharma won by a margin of 100. After winning, you declared him defeated. There shouldn't be any discrepancies in the results. The results should be fair... If there were any discrepancy in the results, there would be no greater sin than this. This is wrong."

Counting And Security

Counting started at designated centres across the state at 8 am. Security personnel were deployed in and around the centres and only authorised persons were being allowed entry, officials said.

Jaipur offered the clearest early picture. Till 10 am, results for 23 of the 150 wards in the Jaipur Municipal Corporation had been declared. The BJP won 17 of those wards. Congress secured five seats and an Independent candidate won one.

Poll Schedule And Scale

The election is large in scale. A total of 10,245 councillors are to be elected across 309 urban local bodies in Rajasthan.

These 309 bodies include 10 municipal corporations, 51 municipal councils and 248 municipalities. More than 1.44 crore voters were eligible to cast their votes.

Polling was held in two phases on September 9 and 11. The spread of the election across corporations, councils and municipalities makes the result an important test of party strength in urban Rajasthan.

Turnout And Campaign

Turnout was higher in the first phase. Polling for 162 urban local bodies on September 9 recorded 76.42 per cent voting.

The remaining 147 urban local bodies voted on September 11. Turnout in that phase stood at 70.68 per cent.

Both main parties campaigned hard. The BJP and Congress led an intense contest, while Independents and candidates from other parties were also in the fray in several urban bodies.

Several senior leaders joined the campaign. They included Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly Tikaram Jully, BJP state president Madan Rathore and Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra.

Political Stakes Ahead

The stakes are wider than civic control. The results will determine who runs urban local bodies across Rajasthan and indicate the urban electoral mood nearly three years after the 2023 Assembly elections.

Jaipur is central to that picture. Votes are being counted for 150 wards in the Jaipur Municipal Corporation, the state's largest civic body in the current elections, and the city has more than 24 lakh electors.

The process does not end with councillor results. After these results, the constitution of the urban local bodies will move to the election of their heads.

The next dates are already fixed. Mayors and chairpersons will be elected on September 21, while deputy mayors, deputy chairpersons and municipal vice-presidents will be elected on September 22.