BJP wins Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota mayoral seats amid clashes and cross-voting

The Bharatiya Janata Party won the mayoral elections in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota, the results of closely fought contests that featured cross-voting, protests and a clash between party supporters.

In Jaipur, Sunil Kothari was elected mayor with 89 votes, defeating Congress candidate Sunita Mawar, who polled 60. Kothari's tally was lifted past the majority mark by the support of 11 councillors from outside his party, in a corporation where the BJP does not hold an outright majority. Speaking after the result, Kothari said his priority would be to make life easier for the city's residents and to build a city that gives wings to dreams. The deputy mayor's election is scheduled for Saturday.

Before voting in Jaipur, Congress leaders protested after city party president Sunil Sharma and MLAs Amin Kagzi and Rafiq Khan were stopped from entering the corporation premises. They sat in protest outside the building before calling it off.

In Jodhpur, Prasannachand Mehta beat the Congress's Rajendra Singh Solanki by six votes in the 100-member municipal corporation, securing 53 votes to Solanki's 47. The BJP had 45 councillors of its own and the backing of seven independents; the Congress had 44 councillors and three independents. The Congress fielded Solanki, a former chairman of the Jodhpur Development Authority and a member of the Mali community, as part of what it described as a hybrid strategy to draw support from councillors of the same community, but the approach did not add to its vote. The BJP held on to its councillors and independents and gained one more vote. Mehta said his immediate focus would be street lighting, cleanliness and road repairs before Diwali, and that the deputy mayor would be chosen as the party directs.

After the Jodhpur result, BJP and Congress supporters clashed on Peeli Tanki Road, about a kilometre from the municipal corporation. The confrontation began when BJP workers allegedly stopped a vehicle carrying Congress workers and escalated, drawing police intervention.

In Kota, Anusuiya Goswami was elected mayor with 65 votes against Congress candidate Sunita Suman's 35. The BJP had 57 councillors and the support of two of the four independents, while the Congress had 39 councillors. Its candidate's tally of 35 pointed to cross-voting within the party. Goswami, who became emotional after taking her seat in the mayor's office, promised to make the position approachable and said the public could meet her directly with grievances.

The BJP also won the presidential election in the 25-ward Suket Municipality in Kota district, where Jitendra Chopra defeated Congress candidate Umardin by a single vote, 13 to 12. The council has 11 Congress councillors, 10 BJP councillors and four independents.

The three mayoral contests are part of the wider municipal electoral exercise in Rajasthan, in which the BJP has taken control of several urban local bodies. In the major cities, both parties worked to consolidate councillors and win over independents, with cross-voting and allegations of political pressure surfacing in some contests.