No holds barred as BJP, Congress slug it out for control of Rajasthan civic bodies, Rajasthan High Court steps in

Amid Congress allegations that its councillors across Rajasthan are being targeted by the BJP, the ruling party has won 197 of the 301 chairperson posts in urban local bodies for which results have been announced. Of the seven corporations where mayoral elections have been held, the BJP has won six. In two of these corporations, Ajmer and Pali, the Congress was ahead of the BJP in number of councillors.

On Monday, there were allegations of gunfire and abductions in Sri Ganganagar, with a habeas corpus petition moved in the Rajasthan High Court by the wife of one of the councillors. The court directed that the councillor be produced, and later postponed the election by a week.

In the Rajasthan civic polls which concluded recently, the BJP had stayed ahead of the pack but the Congress had made substantial gains while the Aam Aadmi Party had made its debut with the Baran Municipal Council.

The Congress alleged that 18 councillors, including Independents, of the 35-member Tijara Municipal Council, in Khairthal-Tijara district, were stopped by the Haryana Police late on Sunday night, as they travelled from Himachal Pradesh to vote in Monday’s election to the post of chairman.

In the Council, Independents had won 31 wards, the BJP 3, and the Congress 1. With most of the Independents indicating their support to the Congress, the latter had shepherded them to party-ruled Himachal.

Congress leader Imran Khan alleged that the Haryana Police intercepted their vehicles near Panchkula, and kept them confined for several hours.

A Rajasthan Congress leader who was with the councillors said they had moved along with their families to a resort in Kasauli after the civic poll results on September 9. He said as they were returning to Rajasthan, armed policemen took them away from a toll plaza.

Haryana Congress president Rao Narender Singh said a large number of cars followed the councillors, including police personnel. “If there was any criminal or legal case against any person, police should take action according to the law. But stopping elected councillors just before an election is a serious step that affects the democratic process,” he said.

The councillors were released after the Congress workers objected, Khan said. The voting time for the chairperson’s post was extended by the Returning Officer till 8 pm.

At 9.30 pm, several Independents arrived at the polling venue. Speaking to reporters, Hemlata, the newly elected councillor from Ward 18 of Tijara, reiterated that they had been detained by the Haryana Police.

In the results declared around 10 pm, the Congress’s Ramavatar Saini pulled through, winning 18 votes to the BJP’s 16 for chairperson.

The Haryana Police denied any role in the matter. Panchkula ACP Ram Kumar said: “They (Congress workers) are saying the councillors were returning from Himachal and nobody knew where they went after they neared Panchkula. I assured Congress workers on Monday morning that we would try to locate the councillors as early as possible,” he said.

Former Congress chief minister Ashok Gehlot posted on X: “The BJP has now involved not just the Rajasthan Police but also the Haryana Police in the murder of democracy.”

The allegations of gunfire and abduction were made in the election for the chairperson of Sri-Vijaynagar Nagar Palika in Sri Ganganagar district. Congress leaders alleged that Mangatram (Ward 20), Pyarelal (Ward 21) and Independent councillor Vijay Kumar (Ward 13) were “abducted”.

Family members of the three councillors reached the Sri-Vijaynagar Police Station and submitted a complaint. They also staged a protest outside the police station, demanding action. Raisinghnagar DSP Hanuman Singh rushed to the police station and deployed additional police personnel as tension prevailed.

Vijay Kumar’s wife Shashi approached the High Court filing a habeas corpus petition. A Division Bench directed the Ganganagar Superintendent to trace and “recover” Kumar by 4 pm and ensure that he cast his vote by 5 pm. The court also extended the chairperson’s election deadline to 5 pm, before finally putting off the voting to September 28.

At Malakheda Nagar Palika in Alwar, Congress leader Tikaram Jully led his councillors in objecting to the presence of BJP chairperson candidate Puran Chand Meena in a barricaded area. In the civic polls, the Congress and Independents had secured 9 wards each in the municipality, and the BJP had won 2 in the 20-member house.

Finally, Congress candidate Savitri Meena won with the support of all 9 Congress councillors and 4 Independents. The BJP candidate got 7 votes, including those of the 2 party councillors and 5 Independents.

In Kekri Nagar Palia in Ajmer district, the BJP alleged an attempt by the Congress to influence one of its councillors for payment of Rs 51 lakh, sharing a video purportedly showing this. The Congress’s Anil Kumar Mittal won the chairperson post here getting 21 votes, one more than the half-way mark.

In Ajmer corporation, the Congress had won 37 wards, the BJP 32 and Independents 11, in the civic polls, with the half-way mark at 40. The BJP prevailed in a tussle with the Congress over Independents and rebels, with all Independents eventually voting for it. The BJP’s Anamika Sharma won the mayoral post.

In Pali corporation, the BJP won the mayor’s post despite its tally of 21 wards putting it behind the Congress’s 29 and Independents’ 15. The BJP’s Namita Bubakia received 33 votes, while even Independent candidate Rajbala Hingad garnered 29 votes. The Congress’s Sumitra Jain received just 3 votes.

The AAP won the chairperson post in the Baran Municipal Council, with its candidate Sheetal Rathore getting 31 votes out of 60, ending the BJP and Congress era in the civic body.

Across Rajasthan, in the chairperson posts for which results have been announced, the Congress has secured 95, the AAP, CPI(M) and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party one each. Seven posts have gone to Independents. The only mayoral post won by the Congress was in the Bikaner Municipal Corporation.

Chairpersons for 32 of the 309 urban local bodies were elected unopposed, including mayors of Bharatpur and Bhilwara Municipal Corporations, and chairpersons of six municipal councils and 24 municipal boards.

Elections for four bodies, including three municipal corporations – Jaipur, Kota and Jodhpur – are scheduled for September 25.

Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra cited the High Court intervention and said: “The manner in which the BJP government has misused the police and administration constitutes an assault on democracy and democratic traditions.”