BJP makes significant gains in Rajasthan local body polls; CPM captures Nokha municipality

JAIPUR: The BJP has made significant gains in the Rajasthan local body elections, winning 3,795 of the 9,269 wards for which results have been declared. The Congress won 3,265 seats, while independent candidates secured 2,080 seats.

Elections were held for 10,245 wards across 309 local bodies. Independents won around 22 per cent of the seats, with many of them being BJP and Congress rebels. In Bharatpur, the home turf of Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, independents won 36 of the 65 wards. The BJP managed to win only 20 seats there.

Meanwhile, parties including the CPM and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won more than 129 seats. The CPM made history by capturing a municipality in Rajasthan for the first time.

CPM candidates won 29 of the 45 wards in the Nokha Municipality in Bikaner. The party had fielded candidates in all 45 wards. Congress candidates failed to win a single seat, while the BJP won 13 and independents secured three. The CPM had fielded candidates in a total of 192 wards in the local body elections. More than 40 of its candidates are estimated to have won.

The Aam Aadmi Party emerged victorious in Baran Municipality, winning 31 of the 60 wards. The Congress won 18 seats, the BJP nine and independents two. The BJP performed strongly in the Alwar, Kota and Jaipur regions. It also secured control of corporations in Udaipur and Bhilwara. The Congress maintained the upper hand in Ajmer and Pali.