Counting of votes for Rajasthan urban local body elections begin

Counting of votes for councillor posts in 309 urban local bodies across Rajasthan began on Monday amid tight security, officials said.

The counting is being conducted at designated centres across the state, with security personnel deployed in and around the venues. Entry has been restricted to authorised persons, officials said.

The elections, seen as a major test for the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress ahead of the 2028 Assembly polls, were held in two phases on September 9 and 11.

A total of 10,245 councillors are to be elected across 309 urban local bodies, comprising 10 municipal corporations, 51 municipal councils and 248 municipalities.

More than 1.44 crore voters were eligible to cast their ballots.

Polling for 162 urban local bodies was held in the first phase on September 9, recording a voter turnout of 76.42 per cent. The remaining 147 urban local bodies went to the polls on September 11, with a turnout of 70.68 per cent.

The civic elections saw an intense campaign by the BJP and Congress, while Independents and candidates from other parties also contested in several urban bodies.

Fate of 39,000 Rajasthan candidates sealed as second phase of urban body polls endsChief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Rajasthan Assembly Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully, BJP state president Madan Rathore and Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra were among the prominent leaders who campaigned for their respective parties.

The elections are politically significant as the results will determine control of civic bodies across Rajasthan and offer an indication of the urban electoral mood nearly three years after the 2023 Assembly elections.

In the Jaipur Municipal Corporation, the largest civic body covered by the current elections, votes are being counted for 150 wards. Jaipur has more than 24 lakh electors.

Following the councillor results, the process of constituting the urban local bodies will move to the election of their heads.

Mayors and chairpersons will be elected on September 21, while deputy mayors, deputy chairpersons and municipal vice-presidents will be elected on September 22.

(With inputs from PTI)