Sunil Kothari of the BJP has been elected as the Mayor of Jaipur Municipal Corporation, defeating Congress candidate Sunita Mawar amid protests and allegations from the opposition party.
In the recent Jaipur Mayor election, BJP councillor Sunil Kothari emerged victorious, defeating Congress candidate Sunita Mawar. The election, held on Friday, saw Kothari secure 89 votes in the 150-member Jaipur Municipal Corporation, surpassing the 76 votes needed for a majority.
Kothari, who represents Ward 112, faced Mawar in a direct contest after other nominations were withdrawn. The election process was marked by protests from Congress leaders and councillors, who raised concerns about the conduct of the polling.
During the election, Congress MLA Rafiq Khan attempted to enter the Municipal Corporation headquarters but was denied access to the voting area. Following this, he and other Congress leaders staged a sit-in outside the office, demanding accountability and transparency in the voting process.
Allegations surfaced from Congress that some of their councillors were initially barred from entering the voting area. After the situation was resolved, these councillors were eventually allowed to cast their votes. Khan and fellow MLA Amin Kagzi questioned the presence of unauthorized individuals in the polling area and called for a review of CCTV footage to clarify who had access and under what authority.
A confrontation occurred between Congress councillors and police as they tried to enter the voting area, highlighting the tensions surrounding the election.
The Jaipur Municipal Corporation consists of 150 wards, with the majority threshold for the mayoral election set at 76 votes. Following the last municipal elections, the BJP held 78 seats, while Congress had 57, and 15 were Independents. The Independents were viewed as potentially influential in the mayoral race.
Sunil Kothari has a notable political background, having previously served in various organizational roles within the BJP, including positions as the party’s Jaipur City President, State Secretary, and State Vice-President. He is also a member of the BJP State Executive Committee. In the last municipal election, Kothari defeated Congress’s Ashish Sharma by a margin of 905 votes.
Sunita Mawar, representing Ward 118, is a seasoned politician who has served as a councillor four times. She was the Congress candidate in this election.
The polling for the mayoral post took place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, with counting commencing immediately after the voting concluded. The results were announced shortly thereafter. Following the mayoral election, attention will now turn to the Deputy Mayor’s position, with voting scheduled for September 26.
With the results from Jaipur, along with Jodhpur and Kota, the BJP has successfully secured all three major mayoral positions contested on Friday.
In summary, the results from the three cities are as follows:
In Jaipur, Sunil Kothari received 89 votes against Sunita Mawar’s 60, resulting in a winning margin of 29 votes. In Jodhpur, Prasann Chand Mehta of the BJP won with 53 votes, defeating Congress’s Rajendra Solanki, who garnered 47 votes, giving Mehta a margin of 6 votes. In Kota, Anusuya Goswami of the BJP achieved 65 votes, while Congress’s Sunita Suman received 35 votes, resulting in a winning margin of 30 votes.
According to The Sunday Guardian, the BJP’s success in these elections underscores its stronghold in Rajasthan’s municipal governance.