Rajasthan local body polls: BJP candidates elected unopposed in 25 bodies

Jaipur, Sep 18 (SocialNews.XYZ) The battle for the top posts in Rajasthan’s urban local bodies has entered a decisive phase following the announcement of councillor election results, with the BJP claiming unopposed victories for its candidates as chairpersons, sabhapatis and presidents in 25 civic bodies across the state.

The BJP has also secured unopposed mayoral victories in the Bharatpur and Bhilwara Municipal Corporations, although the political circumstances in the two corporations are markedly different. While the BJP enjoys a clear numerical majority in Bhilwara, the Bharatpur outcome has emerged as a major political talking point because independent councillors won the largest number of seats in the corporation.

The Bharatpur Municipal Corporation has 65 wards. In the recent civic elections, Independent candidates emerged as the largest group, winning 36 wards. The BJP won 20 seats, while the Congress secured 7. The BSP and RLP won one seat each. The numbers initially suggested that Independent councillors would play the decisive role in determining the next mayor, as no political party had a majority on its own.

The BJP fielded Anuradha Singh as its mayoral candidate. Independent councillor Vichitra Singh from Ward 17 also entered the contest, reportedly with Congress backing, setting up the possibility of a closely contested mayoral election. However, the situation changed dramatically on September 18, when Vichitra Singh withdrew her nomination.

With her withdrawal, Anuradha Singh became the sole candidate for the mayoral post and is set to be elected unopposed, subject to completion of the formal electoral process. The result is particularly significant for the BJP because Bharatpur is the home district of Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma. The BJP did not win a majority of the corporation’s 65 seats. Instead, Independents emerged as the largest bloc. Their numbers had therefore made them central to the mayoral contest. The withdrawal of the Independent candidate has now removed the need for a direct electoral contest for the mayor’s post.

The development has also triggered a political confrontation between the BJP and Congress, with Congress leaders alleging that the Independent candidate was pressured into withdrawing her nomination. BJP leaders and the candidate have offered a different account of the decision. The circumstances surrounding Vichitra Singh’s withdrawal have become a major point of contention.

According to reports cited in connection with the development, Vichitra Singh met Rajasthan Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham before withdrawing her nomination.

The meeting reportedly lasted nearly two hours. Bedham subsequently met Vichitra Singh’s husband, former Bharatpur Mayor Shiv Singh Bhont. After withdrawing her nomination, Vichitra Singh said she wanted to contribute to the development of Bharatpur and had taken the decision with that objective in mind.

Congress leaders, however, have alleged that the withdrawal followed political pressure. Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra have separately questioned the circumstances surrounding the withdrawal and accused the BJP government of using administrative machinery to influence the mayoral election. These allegations have been rejected by the BJP, which has maintained its political position on the development.

The political arithmetic in Bhilwara was very different. The Bhilwara Municipal Corporation has 70 wards, with the BJP winning 45 seats and securing a clear majority. The Congress won 10 seats, while Independent candidates secured 15. The BJP nominated Jaswant Kanwar, who won from Ward 9, as its mayoral candidate. Independent candidate Santosh Kanwar had initially entered the mayoral race but withdrew her nomination on September 17. The Congress did not field a candidate for the mayoral post.

Jaswant Kanwar was consequently elected mayor unopposed. Unlike Bharatpur, where Independents held the largest bloc, the Bhilwara outcome followed a clear BJP majority combined with the withdrawal of the only other candidate in the mayoral contest. According to information released by the BJP, its candidates have been elected unopposed to the posts of chairperson, sabhapati or president in 25 urban local bodies across Rajasthan.

The developments followed the election of councillors in the state’s 309 urban local bodies. According to figures cited by the BJP, it emerged as the largest party in 148 urban local bodies, while the Congress was the largest party in 104. The remaining bodies have produced mixed electoral outcomes, with independents and other parties also holding significant representation in several councils.

The Bharatpur result has highlighted a broader feature of the 2026 local body elections: the importance of Independent councillors in bodies where neither the BJP nor Congress has secured a majority. In Bharatpur, the 36 Independent councillors represented the largest bloc, compared with 20 BJP councillors and seven Congress councillors. That arithmetic initially made the mayoral contest a battle for independent support.

The withdrawal of the Independent candidate, however, transformed the contest from a numerical battle into an unopposed election. The developments in Bharatpur and the wider Bharatpur-Deeg region have attracted particular attention because of the region’s political significance and the BJP government’s focus on strengthening its presence in local institutions. For the BJP, the unopposed mayoral outcome in Bharatpur comes despite the party not holding the largest number of councillor seats. In Bhilwara, by contrast, the party’s unopposed mayoral victory follows a clear majority in the corporation.

The two outcomes illustrate the different political equations emerging across Rajasthan’s urban local bodies—ranging from clear party majorities to councils where independents hold the balance of power.

With the election of mayors, chairpersons and presidents now underway, the focus is shifting from ward-level results to the political negotiations and alignments determining who will lead Rajasthan’s civic bodies for the coming term.

Source: IANS