BJP strengthens urban grip as Congress trails in local polls
The BJP has emerged as the largest winner in Rajasthan’s latest urban local body elections, securing about 41% of the wards, compared with roughly 35% for the Congress.
The BJP’s performance represents an increase of around five percentage points compared with its share in the previous urban local body election cycle. The Congress, meanwhile, has recorded a decline of approximately five percentage points.
However, comparing the two election cycles directly is not straightforward. Rajasthan’s urban electoral map has expanded substantially following delimitation, with the total number of municipal wards increasing by about 37%.
The State has added 2,770 wards since the previous round of urban local body elections, which took place between 2019 and 2021.
The BJP’s number of wards won has risen by 57%, considerably faster than the overall expansion in the number of wards. The Congress has registered a 19% increase in its ward tally.
According to the results available by the evening of September 14, the BJP had won 4,179 wards, while the Congress had secured 3,613. Independents had won 2,273 wards.
Out of the 10,244 wards, the BJP’s share stood at approximately 40.8%, followed by the Congress at 35.3% and Independents at 22.2%. The BJP therefore held a lead of 566 wards over the Congress.
The elections covered 309 urban local bodies across Rajasthan, including municipal corporations, municipal councils and municipalities. Voting took place on September 9 and 11, with the results declared on September 14.
Several other political formations, including the AAP, CPI(M) and Hanuman Beniwal’s Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, also registered gains in different areas.
The results are significant for both major parties as Rajasthan has traditionally remained a politically competitive swing State at the Assembly level.
The figures cited were based on results available at 7 pm on September 14, with 10 wards still awaiting final results. The overall numbers could therefore change slightly.