Jaipur, Sep 22 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured Deputy Mayor posts in six Rajasthan municipal corporations where elections were held on Tuesday, while Congress failed to win a single post.
The most significant upset came in Bikaner, where Congress holds the mayor’s post and had the largest bloc in the 80-member corporation. Despite this, BJP candidate Pankaj Gehlot won the Deputy Mayor election amid allegations of cross-voting.
The BJP also secured Deputy Mayor posts in Alwar, Udaipur and other corporations. In Ajmer, the contest ended in a tie, with BJP and Congress candidates receiving 40 votes each. The result was decided through a lottery, and BJP’s Hemant Sankhla was declared the winner.
In Pali, the Deputy Mayor contest was also decided by lottery. Independent candidate Mahboob T emerged victorious after the voting process ended without a clear winner.
Pali had already witnessed a major upset in the mayoral election, where Congress had won 29 of the 65 wards compared with 21 for BJP and 15 Independents. Still, BJP’s Namita Bubakia won the mayoral post with support beyond the party’s councillor strength.
The BJP’s victory in Bikaner drew close attention. Congress holds the mayor’s post after Anil Kalla defeated BJP’s Surendra Singh Shekhawat 50–30 in the 80-member corporation. Congress also had the largest bloc of councillors, but BJP’s Pankaj Gehlot won the Deputy Mayor election. Reports attributed the result to cross-voting, though the secret-ballot system means individual votes cannot be identified.
A confrontation was reported during the election after former Congress district president Yashpal Gehlot and Additional SP Chakravarti Singh clashed when police escorted Gehlot away from the premises.
In Alwar, BJP’s Ajay Poonia was elected Deputy Mayor with 40 votes, while Congress candidate Mamta Saini received 24. One vote was declared invalid. The result strengthens BJP’s control of the Alwar Municipal Corporation after Sumanlata Agrawal was elected Mayor on September 21.
In Udaipur, BJP’s Dinesh Bhatt was elected Deputy Mayor. Out of 80 councillors, Bhatt received 56 votes, while Congress candidate Lakshminarayan Meghwal secured 24. Bhatt won by a margin of 32 votes. BJP had also won the Udaipur mayoral election, with Paras Singhvi defeating Congress’s Poonam Kanwar.
In Mathania Municipality of Jodhpur district, Congress councillors arrived by bus to vote in the Vice-Chairperson election. Former Congress MLA Divya Maderna arrived wearing a helmet, citing safety concerns. The development followed a clash between BJP and Congress workers during Monday’s Chairperson election.
The State Election Commission has issued a revised schedule for the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson elections in Khatu Shyamji Municipality in Sikar.
The Chairperson election will now be held on September 25, followed by the Vice-Chairperson election on September 26. The earlier election was postponed after Congress councillor Lakshmi Devi of Ward 10 failed to appear for voting, leading to the sealing of voting records.
After the relevant elections are completed, the Model Code of Conduct will be lifted in 304 urban local bodies across Rajasthan. It remains in force in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Suket and Khatu Shyamji, where the electoral process is not yet complete.
The mayoral elections in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota are scheduled for September 25.
Elsewhere, Congress candidate Sayyad Mumtaz Ali won the Deputy Chairperson election in Jalore Municipal Council, defeating BJP’s Manish Parmar 25-15. In Barmer, BJP councillors received their mobile phones back after 13 days, having deposited them when moved to a secure location during post-election activity.
The Deputy Mayor results follow Monday’s mayoral elections, in which BJP won six of seven decided municipal corporation mayoral posts, while Congress won Bikaner. BJP’s victories came in Ajmer, Alwar, Bharatpur, Bhilwara, Pali and Udaipur. The remaining contests in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota will be held on September 25, completing the picture of Rajasthan’s municipal corporation leadership.
Source: IANS
About Gopi
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at gopi@socialnews.xyz