The New Indian Express ·
Politics
Independents emerge clear players in Rajasthan urban local bodies
JAIPUR: Fractured verdicts in several urban local bodies have put 2,273 Independent councillors at the centre of the post-poll arithmetic in Rajasthan civic polls which the BJP won.
While repolling will be held in nine wards, the results declared on Monday clearly show that the Independents have emerged clear players.
The BJP won 4,179 wards of the 10,244 wards across 309 urban local bodies, the Congress 3,613 and Independents 2,273.The RLP won 63 wards, AAP 42, CPI(M) 38, BSP 19 and Bharat Adivasi Party eight.
The State Election Commission (SEC) on Tuesday issued public notice for election of mayors and chairpersons in 305 of the state's 309 urban local bodies.
The process has been held back in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota municipal corporations and Suket municipality in Kota district, where repolling at 10 booths will be held on September 16 following technical problems in EVMs during counting.
The repoll involves nine wards -- four in Jaipur, one in Jodhpur, three in Kota and one in Suket.
Voting will be held from 7 am to 6 pm on Wednesday and the votes will be counted on September 17.
The SEC said complaints of technical problems in EVMs were received during counting at the affected polling stations.
After examining reports from the district election officers and returning officers, the commission found that the number of votes affected by the technical problems was higher than the margin between the nearest rival candidates and ordered repolling.
The pending results cannot alter the BJP's majority in Jaipur and Kota municipal corporations as the party has already crossed the halfway mark in both.
The BJP and Congress have won 44 wards each in the 100-member Jodhpur municipal corporation. Independents have won 10 and RLP one, while one ward remains undecided.
Even the remaining result cannot give either the BJP or Congress an outright majority in Jodhpur, leaving Independents crucial to the mayoral arithmetic.
A close BJP-Congress contest is also playing out in Suket municipality in Kota district, where both parties have won 10 wards each. Independents have won four in the 25-member body and one ward remains undecided.
The BJP's lead over Congress stands at 566 wards, but the results at the level of individual urban bodies present a more fragmented picture, making the election of mayors and chairpersons the next key stage of the civic polls.
Among the 10 municipal corporations, the BJP has secured a clear majority in four -- Jaipur, Udaipur, Kota and Bhilwara -- while Congress has won a majority in Bikaner.
No major party has secured a majority in Ajmer, Alwar, Jodhpur and Pali, while Independents dominate the 65-member Bharatpur Municipal Corporation.
In Jaipur, the BJP has already won 78 of the 150 wards, crossing the majority mark of 76. The Congress has won 53 and Independents 15, while four wards will be decided after repolling.
The BJP has also secured a majority in Kota by winning 55 of the 100 wards. The Congress has won 38 and Independents four, while three results remain pending.
In Udaipur, the BJP won 53 of the 80 wards against Congress' 23, while Independents won three and CPI(M) one.
The BJP also secured a comfortable majority in Bhilwara, winning 45 of the 70 wards. Congress won 10 and Independents 15.
The Congress has a clear majority in Bikaner, where it won 42 of the 80 wards against BJP's 27. Independents won 10 and RLP one.
The Congress emerged as the largest party in Ajmer with 37 of the 80 wards against BJP's 32 and Independents' 11, but fell short of the majority mark of 41.
It also emerged as the largest party in Pali, the hometown of BJP state president Madan Rathore, winning 29 of the 65 wards. BJP won 21 and Independents 15.
In Alwar, the BJP emerged as the largest party with 28 of the 65 wards, followed by Congress with 23, Independents 13 and BSP one.
One of the most striking verdicts came from Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma's hometown Bharatpur, where Independents won 36 of the 65 wards in the municipal corporation. The BJP won 20 and Congress seven, while BSP and RLP secured one each.
The strong performance of Independents was not confined to Bharatpur city, but the trend was seen in all the urban local bodies across the district.
Independents won 22 of 35 wards in Bayana Municipality, 22 of 25 in Bhusawar Municipality, 25 of 35 in Nadbai Municipality,14 of 25 in Roopwas Municipality, 13 of 25 in Uchhain Municipality and 20 of 25 in Veir Municipality.
A similar pattern was visible in neighbouring Deeg district, where independents won majority of seats in all six urban local bodies.
The Congress, meanwhile, won 29 of the 45 wards in Jhalawar Municipal Council, securing a clear majority in a region considered a political stronghold of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje.
The party also secured majorities in several other urban bodies in Jhalawar district, winning 26 of 40 wards in Bhawani Mandi, 14 of 20 in Dag and 18 of 25 in Khanpur.
The BJP, however, retained its dominance in Jhalrapatan municipality, winning 22 of the 35 wards against Congress' eight and AAP's five. Raje, a two-time chief minister, represents Jhalrapatan in the state Assembly.
The BJP also secured a majority in Aklera municipality in Jhalawar district, winning 25 of its 35 wards.
Away from the BJP-Congress contest, the AAP registered a significant victory in Baran Municipal Council, winning 31 of its 60 wards and securing a majority. The Congress won 18, BJP nine and Independents two.
In Bikaner's Nokha municipality, the CPI(M) won 29 of the 45 wards, securing a clear majority. The BJP won 13 and Independents three, while Congress failed to win a ward.
Chief Minister Sharma has described BJP's performance as a "historic victory" and said the verdict reflected people's faith in the party's development model.
Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra has, however, claimed that the BJP's lead over Congress in vote share was less than one percentage point and alleged that irregular delimitation of wards benefited the ruling party.
Mayors and chairpersons in the 305 urban bodies for which the SEC issued the public notice on Tuesday will be elected on September 21. Elections for deputy mayors, deputy chairpersons and municipal vice-presidents will follow on September 22.
The SEC said the public notice for the election of heads in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota and Suket will be issued immediately after repolling on September 16 and counting on September 17.
The elections covered 309 urban local bodies across Rajasthan, including 10 municipal corporations.
In the previous municipal election cycle held between November 2019 and February 2021, Rajasthan had 196 urban local bodies. After the elections of mayors and chairpersons, the Congress headed 123 bodies, the BJP 64 and Independents and others nine.
