The ruling BJP widened its lead over the Congress in Rajasthan's Urban Local Body elections on Monday, winning 4179 wards against the Congress's 3613 wards, while independent candidates emerged as a significant force across the state by garnering 2273 wards.Further, the AAP won 42 wards, BAP eight, BSP 19, CPIM 38 and RLP won 63 wards.The results from major urban centres presented a mixed political picture.The BJP secured a clear majority in Udaipur, while the Congress emerged as the largest party in Ajmer and Pali.In Bharatpur, independent candidates dominated the electoral landscape. The BJP won a comfortable majority in the 80-member Udaipur Municipal Corporation, securing 53 wards. The Congress won 23, while independents bagged three and the CPI(M) secured one seat.In Ajmer, the Congress emerged as the largest party by winning 37 of the 80 wards. The BJP secured 32 seats, while Independent candidates won 11. In the 65-ward Pali Municipal Corporation, the Congress won 29 wards, followed by the BJP with 21 and Independents with 15.The result is politically significant as Pali is the home district of Rajasthan BJP president Madan Rathore. Bharatpur produced one of the most striking results of the civic elections. Independent candidates won 36 of the 65 wards, emerging as the dominant political force. The BJP secured 20 wards, while the Congress won seven. The BSP and RLP secured one ward each. Bharatpur is also the hometown of Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma. Meanwhile, Independent candidates put up a strong performance across Rajasthan, winning 2,024 wards and potentially emerging as kingmakers in several urban local bodies where neither major party has secured a clear majority. Baran sprung a surprise as AAP made a silent entry here, winning 31 seats.Other parties recorded smaller but notable gains, with the RLP winning 56 wards, CPI(M) 37, BSP 15, AAP 10 and BAP eight.The civic elections are being viewed as an important political test for the BJP government led by Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and the Opposition Congress ahead of the 2028 Rajasthan Assembly elections.The BJP secured a clear majority in the Jhalrapatan municipality, winning 22 of the 35 seats in the civic body elections. Jhalrapatan falls in Jhalawar district, widely regarded as the political stronghold of former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.Following the BJP's victory, Raje credited the party's dedicated workers and the continued faith of the people for the election result. She described the bond of trust and affection between herself and the people of Jhalrapatan as her greatest strength.In a post on X, Raje expressed her gratitude to the people of Jhalrapatan and congratulated them on the BJP's victory.She wrote, "Heartfelt gratitude to my Jhalrapatan family and congratulations on the municipal election."Meanwhile, the BJP gained an edge in the Jaipur municipal body election results; its performance in several wards was noteworthy. Among the wards where the BJP lost, its candidates finished third or lower in 20 wards. This effectively meant that the party was not a serious contender in the direct contest in these wards, with Congress or Independent candidates taking the lead. The Congress faced a similar situation. The party recorded a 2% decline in its seat share compared with the previous election, while its candidates finished third or lower in 18 wards.The results indicate that beyond the wards dominated by the BJP and Congress, Independent and other candidates posed a significant challenge to both major parties in several areas.The BJP won 78 wards, while Congress secured 53 and Independent candidates won 15. Results have been declared for 146 of the 150 wards, while results for four wards have been withheld.Polling across 309 Urban Local Bodies was conducted in two phases on September 9 and 11.Elections were held for 10,245 councillor positions across 10 municipal corporations, 51 municipal councils and 248 municipalities, with more than 1.44 crore voters eligible to cast their ballots.The election of mayors and chairpersons is scheduled for September 21, followed by elections for deputy mayors, deputy chairpersons and municipal vice-presidents on September 22.It's all clear that the BJP will appoint mayors in Jaipur, Udaipur, Bhilwara and Kota, while Congress secured a clear majority in Bikaner.Meanwhile, Independent candidates are set to play a crucial role in board formation in Pali, Ajmer, Bharatpur and Jodhpur.Congress emerged as the single-largest party in Pali and Ajmer, while the BJP was the single-largest party in Alwar. Jodhpur witnessed a neck-and-neck contest between Congress and the BJP, whereas Independent candidates emerged as the largest group in Bharatpur.Results for four wards in Jaipur, three in Kota and one in Jodhpur have been withheld due to re-polling. The results for these wards will be declared after the re-poll.
PProkerala
