Raj civic poll results: After 36 years of rule in Ajmer, BJP faces defeat; Independents emerge as ‘kingmakers’

Jaipur: The Congress party has emerged as the largest party in the Ajmer Municipal Corporation election, winning 37 of the 80 wards. The BJP secured 32 seats, while Independent candidates won 11. With neither major party reaching the 41-seat majority mark, Independents are set to play a crucial role in determining the next municipal board.

The results mark a significant setback for the BJP, which had controlled Ajmer’s municipal board for the past 36 years.

In the previous election, the BJP won 48 seats, compared with 18 for Congress, one for the RLP and 13 for Independents. This time, the BJP has slipped behind the Congress party. One of the biggest upsets came in Ward 59, where Congress candidate Babita Chauhan defeated the BJP’s Madhu Shekhawat.

Madhu, wife of former chairman Surendra Singh Shekhawat, was considered a strong contender for the mayor’s post. Another closely watched result came from Ward 4, where Monica Jain, who had switched from Congress to the BJP, defeated her rival.

The ward is considered a stronghold of Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani. Hema Gehlot, wife of former mayor Dharmendra Gehlot, who had left the BJP, also faced defeat.

The 80 wards saw a total of 360 candidates in the contest. According to the election figures, 77 Congress candidates, 79 BJP candidates and 204 Independents and candidates from other parties were in the fray.

Ajmer Municipal Corporation has 4,38,039 registered voters, of whom 2,86,823 exercised their franchise. The overall voter turnout was 65.48 per cent.

With 11 Independent councillors holding the balance, both Congress and BJP may now have to negotiate to secure the numbers needed to form the board.

In Ward 80, 21-year-old Kashyapi Sankhla, daughter of BJP leader Chandresh Sankhla, won the election. She is among the youngest councillors to win in the current round of urban local body elections. Following her victory, her father thanked the residents of the ward.

Meanwhile, former BJP councillor Ruby Jain, who rebelled against the party and contested as an Independent from Ward 74, also secured a victory. After her win, Ruby said the people themselves had ensured that her nomination was filed and described the victory as one of the public.

The Ajmer results have altered the political equation in the city, with the BJP losing its long-standing dominance and Independent councillors emerging as the potential kingmakers in the formation of the next municipal board.

IANS