Jaipur, September 22 (Daily Kiran) : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has successfully secured the positions of deputy mayor in six municipal corporations across Rajasthan during elections held on September 22. In a surprising turn of events, the Congress party did not manage to win a single position.
The most notable upset occurred in Bikaner, where Congress held the mayoral seat and had the largest group in the 80-member corporation. Despite this, BJP candidate Pankaj Gehlot emerged victorious as deputy mayor amid allegations of cross-voting.
In addition to Bikaner, the BJP also claimed deputy mayor positions in Alwar, Udaipur, and other municipalities. The election in Ajmer ended in a tie, with both BJP and Congress candidates receiving 40 votes each. The winner, Hemant Sankhla of the BJP, was determined by a lottery.
In Pali, the deputy mayor position was also decided by lottery after no clear winner emerged from the voting process. Independent candidate Mahboob T was declared the winner.
Earlier in Pali’s mayoral election, a significant shift occurred as Congress won 29 out of 65 wards, while the BJP secured 21 and independents claimed 15. Nevertheless, BJP’s Namita Bubkiya won the mayoral seat with more support than her party’s councilors.
The BJP’s victory in Bikaner drew significant attention. Anil Kalla defeated BJP’s Surendra Singh Shekhawat 50-30, allowing Congress to retain the mayoral position. Despite having the largest group of councilors, Pankaj Gehlot of the BJP won the deputy mayor’s election, reportedly due to cross-voting, as the secret ballot system prevents the identification of individual votes.
The elections were marred by a reported altercation between former Congress district president Yashpal Gehlot and Additional SP Chakravarti Singh, which occurred as police escorted Gehlot from the premises.
In Alwar, BJP’s Ajay Poonia was elected deputy mayor with 40 votes, while Congress candidate Mamta Saini received 24 votes, with one vote declared invalid. This result further solidifies BJP’s control over the Alwar municipal corporation, following the election of Sumanlata Agarwal as mayor on September 21.
In Udaipur, BJP’s Dinesh Bhatt won the deputy mayor position, receiving 56 votes against Congress candidate Lakshminarayan Meghwal, who garnered 24 votes. Bhatt’s victory margin was 32 votes, and the BJP also won the mayoral election in Udaipur, with Paras Singhvi defeating Congress’s Poonam Kanwar.
In the Mathania municipality of Jodhpur district, Congress councilors arrived by bus to vote for the vice-chairperson election. Former Congress MLA Divya Maderna donned a helmet for safety, following a clash between BJP and Congress workers during the chairperson election on Monday.
The State Election Commission has released a revised schedule for the chairperson and vice-chairperson elections in Khatu Shyamji municipality in Sikar. The chairperson election is now set for September 25, followed by the vice-chairperson election on September 26. The previous election was postponed due to the absence of Congress councilor Lakshmi Devi from Ward 10, which led to the sealing of voting records.
Once the relevant elections conclude, the model code of conduct will be lifted from Rajasthan’s 304 urban local bodies. However, it will remain in effect in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Suket, and Khatu Shyamji, where the election process is not yet complete.
Mayoral elections in Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Kota are scheduled for September 25.
In other news, Congress candidate Syed Mumtaz Ali won the deputy chairperson election in Jalore Municipal Council, defeating BJP’s Manish Parmar 25-15. In Barmer, BJP councilors received their mobile phones back after 13 days, which had been secured during post-election activities.
The results for deputy mayor positions were announced following the mayoral elections, in which the BJP won six out of seven designated municipal corporation mayoral seats, while Congress secured Bikaner. The BJP’s victories occurred in Ajmer, Alwar, Bharatpur, Bhilwara, Pali, and Udaipur. The remaining elections in Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Kota will complete the picture of municipal corporation leadership in Rajasthan.
Leave a Comment