BJP wins six of seven deputy mayor seats in Rajasthan

The BJP won deputy mayor seats in six of the seven municipal corporations that went to polls in Rajasthan on Tuesday. In Pali, Congress-supported Independent Mahboob T. was elected by draw of lots after tying at 29 votes with BJP's Vikram Pal Singh. In Ajmer, BJP's Hemant Sankhla won by lots after a 40-40 tie. BJP also won Bikaner, Udaipur, Alwar and Bharatpur, with Radheshyam Somani elected unopposed in Bhilwara. Counting continued in 47 municipal councils and 251 municipalities.

Written by AI from The Hindu — National · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 23 Sept 2026, 2:53 am IST

Source

The Hindu — National · read the original report ↗

#bjp#rajasthan#urban local bodies#deputy mayor#congress#elections

Desk check · compared with the source

What the desk checked (5)

BJP won deputy mayor seats in six of seven municipal corporations where polling was held. — Figure appears in source; no election authority explicitly cited.
In Ajmer, BJP's Hemant Sankhla and Congress's Naurat Gurjar got 40 votes each, and Sankhla won by draw of lots. — Specific vote tally and procedure stated in source; internally consistent.
In Pali, Congress-supported Independent Mahboob T. and BJP's Vikram Pal Singh got 29 votes each; Mahboob was declared elected by draw of lots. — Consistent with the source's statement that a Congress-backed Independent won Pali.
Polling was also held in 47 municipal councils and 251 municipalities, with counting continuing late into the evening. — Numbers appear in source; trends described as indicating BJP leads, presented as unattributed assessment.
Bharatpur is Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma's home district, and Independents had won 65 wards there. — Stated in source without attribution.

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Analysts’ view opinion

AI Political Analyst

The BJP's sweep of the deputy mayor posts underlines what a ruling party's organisational muscle and floor management can deliver in indirect, councillor-voted contests. Winning six of seven deputy mayor seats after taking the mayoral races — including Bikaner, where the Congress held the mayor's post but lost the deputy's — points to a coordination problem in the opposition ranks. But the tied results in Ajmer and Pali, decided by a draw of lots, are a reminder that in some places the contest was effectively down to a single vote, not a sweeping popular verdict.

Winning at both the mayoral and deputy stages signals the ruling party's grip over councillors and its ability to hold its flock together.
Losing the deputy's post in Bikaner after winning the mayor's chair is a politically awkward outcome for the Congress, suggesting cross-voting or weak internal coordination.
Bharatpur is telling: Independents were the largest group with 65 wards, yet the BJP prevailed — a demonstration of the ruling party's pull with unattached councillors, in a district that is also the Chief Minister's home turf.
The 40-40 tie in Ajmer and 29-29 tie in Pali, settled by lots, show how thin the margins were and how much chance mattered.
The Congress-supported Independent's win in Pali suggests the opposition's remaining route is alliances and arrangements rather than standalone strength.

What to watch — Watch the final results in the 47 municipal councils and 251 municipalities and who forms the boards — that will show whether the BJP's dominance extends statewide or stops at the bigger urban centres.

Because these are indirect elections decided by councillors, they do not establish any shift in voter sentiment, and the story gives no vote shares or party-wise councillor strength.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 5 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

Rajasthan held indirect elections for the heads and deputy heads of its urban local bodies, with councillors voting to choose mayors, chairpersons and their deputies. Polling for mayors of municipal corporations and chairpersons of municipal councils and municipalities took place on Monday, followed by polling for deputy mayors and deputy chairpersons on Tuesday. The ruling BJP, which had swept the mayoral contests, extended its dominance to the deputy mayor posts, winning six of the seven municipal corporations that voted. Two contests — Ajmer and Pali — were decided by draw of lots after exact ties.

Key facts

BJP won deputy mayor seats in six of the seven municipal corporations where polling was held on Tuesday.
Polling was held in seven municipal corporations, 47 municipal councils and 251 municipalities.
In Ajmer, BJP's Hemant Sankhla and Congress's Naurat Gurjar got 40 votes each; Sankhla won by draw of lots.
In Pali, Congress-supported Independent Mahboob T. and BJP's Vikram Pal Singh got 29 votes each; Mahboob was declared elected by draw of lots.
In Bikaner, Congress held the mayor's post but lost the deputy mayor's seat to BJP's Pankaj Gehlot.
BJP's Dinesh Bhatt won in Udaipur (defeating Congress's Lakshminarain Meghwal) and Ajay Poonia in Alwar (defeating Congress's Mamta Saini).
BJP's Ambika Saini won deputy mayor in Bharatpur, Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma's home district, despite Independents winning 65 wards there and forming the largest group.
BJP's Radheshyam Somani was elected unopposed as deputy mayor in Bhilwara, where BJP's Jaswant Kanwar was elected unopposed as mayor on Monday.

Timeline

Recently (date not stated in the source)Local body elections held; in Bharatpur Municipal Corporation, Independent councillors won 65 wards and formed the largest group.
MondayPolling for mayors of municipal corporations and chairpersons of municipal councils and municipalities; BJP wins mayoral contests, Jaswant Kanwar elected unopposed mayor in Bhilwara.
TuesdayPolling for deputy mayors and deputy heads of urban bodies; BJP wins six of seven deputy mayor seats; Ajmer and Pali decided by draw of lots.
Tuesday, till late eveningCounting of votes in 47 municipal councils and 251 municipalities in progress, with trends showing BJP leads at most places.
September 23, 2026Report published (01:22 am IST).

Who has a stake

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — Ruling party in Rajasthan; consolidated control of urban local bodies by winning six of seven deputy mayor posts after sweeping mayoral contests.
Congress — Main Opposition; won the Bikaner mayoral post but lost that deputy mayor seat, and lost tie-breaks in Ajmer; backed the winning Independent in Pali.
Independent councillors — Largest group in Bharatpur with 65 wards, yet the BJP won the deputy mayor post there; a Congress-supported Independent won in Pali.
Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma — BJP's win in Bharatpur, his home district, carries political significance for his standing.
Elected councillors of corporations, councils and municipalities — They form the electoral college choosing mayors, chairpersons and deputies, making each vote decisive in close contests.
Urban residents of Rajasthan's seven corporations, 47 councils and 251 municipalities — The leadership chosen will run civic administration and local service delivery.

Why it matters

Urban local bodies deliver everyday civic services, so control of mayor and deputy mayor posts shapes municipal administration across Rajasthan's seven corporations, 47 councils and 251 municipalities. The results show the ruling BJP consolidating power in cities even where it did not win the top post or the largest bloc of councillors, as in Bikaner and Bharatpur. The two ties settled by draw of lots also underline how razor-thin margins in indirect elections can decide who runs a city.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

Deputy mayors and mayors in Rajasthan urban bodies are elected indirectly by elected councillors, not directly by voters.
Polling covered 7 municipal corporations, 47 municipal councils and 251 municipalities; mayors on Monday, deputies on Tuesday.
Tied contests were resolved by draw of lots: Ajmer (40-40) and Pali (29-29).
BJP won deputy mayor posts in Bikaner, Ajmer, Udaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur and Bhilwara; Pali went to a Congress-supported Independent.
Bharatpur is the home district of Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma.
Bhilwara saw both mayor (Jaswant Kanwar) and deputy mayor (Radheshyam Somani) elected unopposed on BJP tickets.

Mains framing

Rajasthan's urban local body elections illustrate how indirect elections by councillors can produce outcomes that diverge from ward-level mandates: in Bharatpur, Independents were the single largest group with 65 wards yet the BJP captured the deputy mayor's post, and in Bikaner the Congress won the mayor's chair but lost the deputy's seat to the BJP. The causes lie in post-poll aggregation of small groups and Independents into winning coalitions, and in the very narrow margins involved, with two contests (Ajmer at 40-40 and Pali at 29-29) decided by draw of lots. The implications are twofold: the ruling party consolidates administrative control over cities that shapes civic delivery, while accountability to ward voters becomes indirect and mediated by councillor bargaining. A way forward discussed in such contexts is greater transparency in the election of deputy heads and clearer, publicly understood tie-break procedures; the source describes only the "prescribed procedure" of draw of lots and does not state any reform proposals, so any further policy prescription is not stated in the source.

Key terms

Municipal corporation: Urban local body for larger cities, headed by a mayor with a deputy mayor; seven went to polls in Rajasthan.
Municipal council / municipality: Urban local bodies for smaller towns headed by chairpersons; 47 councils and 251 municipalities voted.
Deputy mayor: Second-ranking elected head of a municipal corporation, chosen by councillors; the post contested on Tuesday.
Draw of lots: Prescribed tie-break procedure used when candidates poll equal votes, as in Ajmer (40-40) and Pali (29-29).
Elected unopposed: Winning without a contest for lack of rival candidates, as with BJP's Radheshyam Somani in Bhilwara.
Congress-supported Independent: A non-party councillor backed by the Congress, such as Mahboob T., who won the Pali deputy mayor post.

Practice questions

Indirect election of mayors and deputy mayors by councillors can produce outcomes at odds with ward-level verdicts. Discuss with reference to the recent Rajasthan urban local body results.
Examine the role of Independent councillors in determining leadership of urban local bodies, using the Bharatpur and Pali outcomes as illustrations.
Why does control of municipal corporations matter for urban governance and service delivery? Analyse in the context of the BJP's sweep of deputy mayor posts in Rajasthan.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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