Agencies | Jaipur:
The Congress has secured a significant victory in Jhalawar Municipal Council, a Rajasthan civic body closely associated with former chief minister and senior BJP leader Vasundhara Raje, winning 29 of the 45 wards.
The BJP secured 13 wards, while two seats were won by Independents and one by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), giving the Congress a comfortable majority in the municipal council.
The result assumes particular significance because of Jhalawar’s long association with Raje’s political career. She has represented the Jhalawar-Baran Lok Sabha constituency, while her son, Dushyant Singh, is the sitting MP from the constituency.
However, the Congress victory does not amount to a complete reversal of the political equation in Raje’s traditional stronghold. The BJP retained its majority in Jhalrapatan, the Assembly constituency represented by Raje.
The Jhalawar result stands out against the BJP’s overall performance in Rajasthan’s urban local body elections.
According to the latest tally, the BJP emerged as the largest party in 148 urban local bodies, while the Congress led in 104.
At the ward level, the BJP has won 4,171 wards, compared with 3,597 wards secured by the Congress.
For the Congress, its performance in Jhalawar provides a significant political boost, particularly because of the area’s association with Raje. For the BJP, the result represents a setback in a municipal council where it has traditionally maintained a strong presence.
The Congress also registered a major victory in Bikaner Municipal Corporation, winning 42 wards and securing a clear majority.
The Bikaner result gives the Congress another important urban-body victory to highlight amid the BJP’s broader statewide lead.
Together, the results in Jhalawar and Bikaner provide the Congress with significant gains in key urban centres, even as the BJP continues to dominate the overall civic poll tally.
In Jodhpur, neither of the two major parties managed to secure a clear advantage, with the BJP and Congress winning 44 wards each.
The remaining seats are held by Independents, leaving the corporation without an outright majority.
The focus in Jodhpur will now shift to post-poll negotiations and the possibility of alliances or support arrangements as both the BJP and Congress seek to secure the numbers required to form the civic administration.
While the Congress has registered notable victories in Jhalawar and Bikaner, the overall Rajasthan civic poll results continue to give the BJP the upper hand, with the ruling party maintaining a substantial lead in the total number of wards won.
