BJP crosses majority mark in Kota municipal elections; chairperson polls postponed over EVM glitches
The BJP has secured a majority in the Kota Municipal Corporation elections by winning 55 of the 100 wards, while the elections for chairperson and vice chairperson in Kota and Suket were postponed following EVM glitches in some wards.
The Congress won 40 wards, while Independent candidates secured victories in three wards.
As per official orders issued by Chief Electoral Officer and Secretary Rajesh Verma, the counting and results for Ward 87, Ward 44 and Ward 11 of Kota Municipal Corporation, along with a designated booth in Ward 4 of Suket Municipality, were withheld after EVMs malfunctioned.
Re-polling in the affected booths has been scheduled for September 16, following which the results of the local body elections will be finalised. Counting will take place on September 17.
Congress candidate from Ward 87, Laxmi Sharma, along with party leader Shalini Gautam and Youth Congress secretary Shubham Gochar, staged a 'dharna' outside JDB College demanding the declaration of the result.
"We are well aware of the ill intentions of BJP, known for foul games. We are winning Ward 87 and they played some game overnight to defeat us," Sharma, who contested against BJP's Pushpa Choudhary, told reporters.
Kota Congress president Rakhi Gautam later reached the counting centre and demanded transparency. She also sought that the EVM be sealed in the presence of the collector and ADM.
Officials subsequently sent a formal report to the Election Commission through the returning officer (RO), seeking further directions.
BJP candidate Vivek Rajvanshi won his fourth consecutive term as councillor from Ward 54, defeating Congress's Manish by 2,226 votes.
BJP's Gopal Ram Manda also secured his fifth consecutive election victory, defeating Congress candidate Sanjay Yadav by 899 votes.
The results were also marked by a brief protest by Independent candidate Babulal, who alleged that he was not allowed to enter the counting area.
Despite the BJP securing overall control of the board, Congress and Independent candidates registered victories in several key wards.
Youth Congress candidate Arpit Jain defeated BJP veteran and former deputy mayor Yogendra Khinchi by 250 votes in Ward 86 in a major upset.
Independent candidate Vandana Faujdar won Ward 71 with 1,264 votes, defeating BJP candidate Meenakshi Sen by 160 votes. The Congress candidate finished third.
In Bundi, the BJP emerged as the largest party with victories in 29 wards, falling two seats short of a majority. Congress won 20 wards, while 11 Independents also secured seats, leaving room for negotiations.
Later in the evening, three Independent candidates -- Prabhat Devi from Ward 1, Aatmaram Chopdar from Ward 3 and Vishal Sharma from Ward 16 -- joined the BJP, giving the party a majority to form the board.
The BJP had captured the previous mid-term by suspending Congress municipal council sabhapati Madu Nuwal.
Some Congress leaders had claimed that the party would form the board this time as well, but said it was affected by discrimination in ticket distribution, which they alleged was centralised among a few families.
Former councillors Devraj Gochar, Ankit Buliwal and Jeeshan Ali were denied Congress tickets and subsequently won as Independents from Wards 54, 44 and 19, respectively.
Former Bundi city BJP president Sushil Mehta lost to an Independent candidate in Ward 16.
Congress city president Shailesh Soni and Youth Congress leader Nishant Nuwal won from Wards 25 and 47, respectively. (with inputs from PTI)
