Congress blames ‘unfair’ delimitation
JAIPUR, SEP 14 (PTI): The ruling BJP emerged ahead of the Congress in Rajasthan’s urban local body elections on Monday, winning 4,179 wards against the opposition party’s 3,613 and securing clear majorities in four of the state’s 10 municipal corporations.
The Congress secured majority in Bikaner Municipal Corporation and scored a major victory in Municipal Council in Jhalawar, considered a stronghold of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje.
Independents emerged as a major force by winning 2,273 wards and dominating the verdict in Municipal Corporation in Bharatpur, the hometown of Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, where they bagged 36 of the 65 wards.
Bharatpur gave one of the most striking verdicts of the elections as Independents won 36 of the 65 wards, while BJP managed 20 and Congress seven. BSP and RLP won one ward each.
The result assumed political significance as Bharatpur is the hometown of Chief Minister Sharma. As the numbers streamed in, Sharma termed the victory to people’s faith in the BJP, and central leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Congress Rajasthan chief Govind Singh Dotasra, however, claimed that the BJP’s winning margins had thinned against the pattern, even as he blamed an “unfair” delimitation to his party’s narrow losses.
Earlier, even as the vote count was on, Dotasra accused the BJP of misusing government machinery and police to influence the outcome.
According to figures available on the State Election Commission website, results for 10,235 of the 10,244 wards where counting was being held were declared till 8.30 pm.
Apart from BJP’s 4,179 and Congress’s 3,613 wards, the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party won 63, AAP 42, CPI(M) 38, BSP 19 and Bharat Adivasi Party eight.
The BJP crossed the majority mark in Jaipur, Udaipur, Kota, and Bhilwara municipal corporations, while the Congress secured a majority in Bikaner.
In Jaipur Municipal Corporation, the BJP won 78 of the 150 wards, Congress won 53, and Independents won 15 wards. Results for four wards were yet to be declared on the SEC website.
The BJP won 53 of the 80 wards in Udaipur, while the Congress secured 23, Independents three and CPI(M) one.
In Bhilwara, the BJP won 45 of the 70 wards against the Congress’s 10, while Independents won 15.
The BJP also crossed the majority mark in Kota, winning 55 wards in the 100-member corporation.
Congress, in Bikaner Municipal Corporation, won 42 of the 80 wards against the BJP’s 27. Independents won 10 and RLP one.
Jodhpur remained on the fence as the BJP and Congress won 44 wards each in the 100-member corporation. Independents won 10 and RLP one, while one result was yet to be declared.
In Ajmer, Congress emerged as the largest party with 37 of the 80 wards against BJP’s 32 and Independents’ 11, leaving no party with a clear majority.
Congress also emerged as the largest party in the municipal corporation of Pali, the hometown of BJP state president Madan Rathore, winning 29 of the 65 wards. The BJP won 21 and Independents 15.
In Alwar, BJP was the largest party with 28 of the 65 wards, followed by Congress with 23, Independents 13 and BSP one.
Congress also scored a notable victory in Jhalawar, a region considered a political stronghold of senior BJP leader Vasundhara Raje.
It won 29 of the 45 wards in Jhalawar Municipal Council, while BJP secured 13, Independents two and AAP one.
The BJP, however, retained its dominance in Jhalrapatan municipality, winning 22 of its 35 wards against Congress’ eight and AAP’s five. Raje, a two-time chief minister, is the sitting BJP MLA from Jhalrapatan.
Sharma termed the BJP’s performance a “historic victory.”
“The BJP’s public outreach model, its approach of listening to common people and resolving their grievances has been accepted by the people,” Sharma said at the BJP state headquarters.
BJP state president Madan Rathore thanked voters and party workers and described the results as a historic victory for the party. Addressing a press conference here, Dotasra said the BJP has traditionally had an advantage in urban local body polls, particularly when in power, but Monday’s results showed that it failed to retain that edge.
He claimed that the BJP had a vote-share lead of 8.12 percentage points over the Congress during the 2014-16 urban polls under the Vasundhara Raje government, while the Congress had a 2.2 percentage point lead over the BJP during the 2019-21 polls under the Ashok Gehlot government.
“In this election, the BJP’s lead over the Congress is less than one per cent,” he said.
Dotasra also alleged that the Congress would have won around 1,500 more wards but for irregular and “unfair” delimitation of wards.
The elections were held for 309 urban local bodies comprising 10 municipal corporations, 51 municipal councils and 248 municipalities.
More than 1.44 crore voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in the two-phase polling held on September 9 and 11.
In the previous municipal election cycle held between November 2019 and February 2021, Rajasthan had 196 urban local bodies comprising 7,500 wards.
After the elections for mayors and chairpersons, Congress controlled 123 of the 196 bodies and BJP 64, while Independents and other parties headed nine.
Mayors and chairpersons of the newly elected urban bodies will be elected on September 21, followed by deputy mayors, deputy chairpersons and municipal vice-presidents on September 22.
BJP and Cong candidates get 1 vote each
A BJP and Congress candidate secured just one vote each and a Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) contender zero as Rajasthan’s urban local body elections were declared on Monday.
BJP candidate Kailashchand contested from Ward 13 of Parbatsar municipality in Didwana-Kuchaman district and secured only one vote.
According to the State Election Commission website, Congress candidate Hina Khanam won the ward with 376 votes, while Independent candidate Rashid Khan secured 195 votes.
Parbatsar municipality has 25 wards, of which, the Congress won 13 wards, securing a simple majority, while the BJP won rest.
Kailashchand told PTI that he was a voter of Ward 12, but the BJP fielded him from the neighbouring Ward 13.
“I got one vote. My vote is in Ward 12. I was fielded from Ward 13. Someone from that ward has voted for me,” he said.
Congress candidate from Ward 15 of Riyanbari Nagar Palika of Nagaur district, Mazeed Mohammad, also got one vote.
Sunil Kumar Chauhan of BJP won the ward, defeating RLP’s Gajendra as the closest candidate.
RLP’s Om Prakash got no vote contesting from Ward 3 of Sindhri Nagar Palika in Balotra district.
Congress candidate Bhanwara Ram won the ward with 133 votes, with BJP’s Khema Ram trailing him at 93 votes.
Om Prakash alleged foul play in the count.
“My family has 10 votes and I also voted for myself. Votes were stolen. At the time of sealing the EVM, polling agents except those of the Congress party were kept out. We will complain to the Election Commission,” he told PTI.
The results came as counting was underway for elections to 309 urban local bodies across Rajasthan, where more than 10,000 councillor posts were at stake.
Throughout the elections, allegations were made, with opposition parties accusing the ruling BJP of using official machinery to influence the outcome, and the BJP dismissing the charge.