BJP dominated Rajasthan urban body elections with 44 of its candidates elected unopposed followed by 16 from Congress out of total 77 seats which went to polls in this phase, according to election officials.
Out of these 77 candidates, 37 are women, including four of the youngest candidates. Besides these, 17 independents have also been elected unopposed. Elections to the 232 remaining seats in the urban local bodies are scheduled to be held on September 9 and September 11. The capital Jaipur has bucked the trend, with no candidate declared elected unopposed from any of its 150 wards.
Young Candidates From Congress and BJP
The Congress’s Sofia (22) from Ramgarh Shekhawati Nagar Palika in Sikar district is the youngest of the winning candidates. She is followed by her party colleague Mona Bano (23) from Basani Nagar Palika in Nagaur district and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Pinki Kumari (24) from Pahari Nagar Palika in Deeg district.
Deeg recorded the highest number of uncontested winners at 10, followed by Chittorgarh with six and Sikar with five. Alwar, Jhunjhunu, Jodhpur and Khairthal-Tijara recorded four each, while Bharatpur, Bikaner, Jaipur district, Dholpur and Jalore had three each.
BJP Holds Over 56 Per Cent of Seats
The BJP accounted for around 56.4 per cent of the unopposed victories, while the Congress had 20.5 per cent and independents 23.1 per cent.
In Deeg, seven of the 10 candidates elected unopposed are independents. All six seats of Chittorgarh were won by the BJP.
Jodhpur’s Bilara saw all four unopposed candidates from the BJP. The candidates of the ruling party were also elected unopposed in Jalore, Dungarpur, Jhunjhunu, Pali and Rajsamand.
The 16 Congress candidates elected unopposed are from areas including Bundi, Dausa, Dholpur, Sri Ganganagar, Jaisalmer, Jhalawar, Jhunjhunu and Kota.
Independents have secured unopposed victories in Bharatpur, Deeg, Dholpur, Jhunjhunu and Karauli, among other places.