Rajasthan: BJP back with a bang in civic elections
After jolt in the assembly by-polls in September this year, the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has come back with a bang in the local body polls by claiming full majority in five out of six municipal corporations and taking lead in 18 municipal councils and 22 municipalities.
The polls for 46 local bodies in 24 districts were held on November 22, under the leadership of home minister Gulab Chand Kataria and BJP state president Ashok Parnami.
The party had lost three out of four assembly seats where by-polls were held in September. But, with clear mandate in five municipal corporations – Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bikaner, and Kota – the party is set to form its board and select a Mayor from among the elected councilors.
The situation in Bharatpur, however, has got tricky where 20 independent candidates have emerged victorious. The Bharatpur MC has 50 seats of which the BJP got only 18, Congress got 11 and one went to the BSP.
In a bid to form the board in Bharatpur, the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress have both started luring Independents. The going for Congress is, however, tough as the party requires support of 15 more councilors to form the board while the BJP requires only eight more.
“The final results are almost ready and we are just reviewing the figures before releasing the final tally” said an official of the State Election Commission.
“It is mandate given by the public against misrule of the Congress. We will work for welfare of the people,” said Parnami.
Meanwhile, Congress chief Sachin Pilot has accepted responsibility for the defeat in the local body polls.
He said the party would assess the results and would try to revive performance in the assembly by-polls. “Morale of the party workers is high and we will reverse the trend in the coming elections,” he said.
