After Close Contest, BJP Holds Ground In Rajasthan Local Body Polls

The BJP appears to have dominated the urban local body polls in Rajasthan with the party winning 8 big cities out of the 10, proving that there has been no major shift in the urban voter sentiment in Rajasthan.

This election is also significant in the context that it was for the first time the entire state of Rajasthan, its urban population, voted together for 309 urban local bodies with over 1.44 crore votes polled under the 'one state, one election' formula.

Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma sent out a strong message at the victory celebrations at the BJP office after the results came.

"The Congress used to say your kaka ji (uncle) also could not conduct a one state, one election and now who has done this successfully? Your kaka ji," he said, indicating his man-in-charge status who the party had positioned in the centre of this election.

Rajasthan has a total of 5.17 crore voters; 1.44 crore urban voters form 27.84 per cent of the total voter population in the state - a large enough sample size for the BJP to congratulate itself.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted congratulatory messages on X.

For an election fought directly under the guidance of the chief minister and monitored closely by the party's central leadership, the results showed the BJP has held its urban vote bank.

Out of the 10 municipal corporations, BJP will form the board in 8. The party is the single-largest in Jaipur, Kota, Udaipur and Bhilwara. In Pali and Bharatpur the BJP looked set to form the board with the help of independents.

Jodhpur A Cliffhanger

Jodhpur turned out to be a cliffhanger with both the BJP and the Congress tied at 44. Ten independents and one RLP councillor could edge the BJP into a winning position if they agree.

At stake is the prestige of former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Whoever pulls it off in Jodhpur will become a test of organisational strength and political skills.

Half-Yearly Exam: BJP Minister

Urban Development Minister Jhabbar Singh Kharra told NDTV they have passed "this half-yearly exam with a first division."

"This was the semifinal of sorts and our performance has been good at 60 per cent," he said. A closer look at the number of wards tells another story - the Congress was not too far behind either and a number of independent winners also indicated that it was not a BJP show all the way.

Of the 10,245 wards that voted, the BJP won in 4,179 wards and the Congress in 3,613 wards; independents and others won 2,273 wards, with the Aam Adami Party (AAP) making a surprise entry in Baran district and walking away with 42 winners.

The number of votes polled also points to a close fight. The difference between the BJP and Congress votes is 99,615 votes.

Close Fight, Narrow Margins

In the 309 local bodies, the BJP polled 37.35 lakh votes, the Congress polled 36.35 lakh votes and independents got 29 lakh plus votes - which means the difference in the vote share between the two major parties is just about 0.94 per cent, less than a 1 per cent difference.

In the 2023 state assembly election, the difference in the votes between the BJP and the Congress was 99,615 votes or about 2.16 per cent, which shows the margins are narrowing in favour of the Congress and the independents, who have cut into votes substantially.

Compared to the last three local body elections when the Vasundhara Raje government was at the helm and when Ashok Gehlot was chief minister, this is the first time that in terms of vote share the BJP and the Congress are so close.

"Let the BJP celebrate," Congress president Govind Singh Dotasara told NDTV. "Delimitation was done to favour the BJP and we would have easily won more than a 1,000 wards more and now the panchayat elections will also show people the true picture."

At least 70 per cent of Rajasthan will vote in the next phase of the panchayat election, where rural voters will declare their mandate.