BJP wins 44, Cong 16 of 77 unopposed seats in Rajasthan civic polls; 37 women among winners

JAIPUR: Seventy-seven candidates, including 37 women, have been elected unopposed in Rajasthan's urban local body polls, with the ruling BJP accounting for 44 of the victories and the Congress 16, according to election officials.

Among the unopposed winners, 37 are women, including four of the youngest candidates to secure victories.

The Congress's Sofia (22) from Ramgarh Shekhawati Nagar Palika in Sikar district is the youngest of the winning candidates. She is followed by her party colleague Mona Bano (23) from Basani Nagar Palika in Nagaur district and the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Pinki Kumari (24) from Pahari Nagar Palika in Deeg district.

The remaining 17 unopposed candidates are independents.

Elections to the 232 remaining seats in the urban local bodies are scheduled to be held on September 9 and September 11.

The capital Jaipur has bucked the trend, with no candidate declared elected unopposed from any of its 150 wards.

Deeg recorded the highest number of uncontested winners at 10, followed by Chittorgarh with six and Sikar with five. Alwar, Jhunjhunu, Jodhpur and Khairthal-Tijara recorded four each, while Bharatpur, Bikaner, Jaipur district, Dholpur and Jalore had three each.

The BJP accounted for around 56.4 per cent of the unopposed victories, while the Congress had 20.5 per cent and independents 23.1 per cent.

In Deeg, seven of the 10 candidates elected unopposed are independents. All six seats of Chittorgarh were won by the BJP.

Jodhpur's Bilara saw all four unopposed candidates from the BJP. The candidates of the ruling party were also elected unopposed in Jalore, Dungarpur, Jhunjhunu, Pali and Rajsamand.

The 16 Congress candidates elected unopposed are from areas including Bundi, Dausa, Dholpur, Sri Ganganagar, Jaisalmer, Jhalawar, Jhunjhunu and Kota.

Independents have secured unopposed victories in Bharatpur, Deeg, Dholpur, Jhunjhunu and Karauli, among other places.