BJP wins mayor elections at three municipal corporations in Rajasthan
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Newly elected Mayor of Jaipur Municipal Corporation Sunil Kothari, along with his wife and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, flashes the victory sign after taking charge as Mayor following his victory in the municipal election in Jaipur, Rajasthan, on September 25, 2026. Kothari secured 89 votes to defeat Congress candidate Sunita Gupta Mawar. | Photo Credit: PTI
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party candidates won the mayoral contests at Rajasthan’s three biggest municipal corporations in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota on Friday (September 26, 2026). The party candidate also claimed victory in the election for chairperson of Suket municipality in Kota district by a narrow margin of one vote.
BJP’s Sunil Kothari was elected Mayor of Jaipur, while Prasanna Chand Mehta was elected to the position in Jodhpur and Anusuiya Goswami in Kota. The voting figures in Jodhpur and Kota went beyond the declared numbers of councillors of the rival parties.
The polls were held through the votes of elected councillors, with counting taking place immediately after polling. Elections in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota municipal corporations and Suket municipality were held separately after repolling was conducted in some wards because of technical glitches during the urban local body polls held earlier this month.
Mr. Kothari defeated Congress candidate Sunita Mawar in Jaipur by 29 votes, securing 89 votes against Ms. Mawar’s 60, with the support of 11 Independent councillors. In Jodhpur, which is the home district of former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Mr. Mehta defeated Congress candidate Rajendra Solanki by 53 votes to 47.
Ms. Goswami defeated Congress candidate Sunita Suman in Kota by receiving 65 votes against the latter’s 35 votes, securing a 30-vote winning margin. At the Suket municipality, BJP candidate Jitendra Chopra received 13 votes, while Congress candidate Umardeen Khan received 12, leading to Mr. Chopra’s victory by just one vote.
The polling in Jaipur witnessed some tense moments when Congress MLA Rafiq Khan staged a sit-in protest after being denied entry into the municipal corporation premises. Mr. Khan and other Congress leaders alleged that the party councillors were being stopped from casting their votes.
Mr. Khan, representing the Adarsh Nagar Assembly constituency in Jaipur, said he would move a privilege motion on the issue. “The BJP government is making a political use of the administrative machinery,” Mr. Khan said after the protest was lifted on the intervention of officials.
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