Congress has achieved a clean sweep in the re-polling for 4 seats of Jaipur Municipal Corporation. This victory has disrupted BJP's calculations for the Mayor post.
Re-polling was conducted at five booths in wards 9, 18, 25, and 34 following technical glitches in EVMs. Congress won all four seats in the counting held at Shri Bhawani Niketan on Thursday.
In Ward 9, Kailash Devi of Congress secured 4,610 votes, defeating BJP's Manju Agarwal by a large margin of 764 votes.
In Ward 18, Vandita Sharma of Congress received 4,962 votes, defeating BJP's Neeraj Kumawat by 181 votes.
In Ward 25, Rekha Devi Saini of Congress emerged victorious with 5,533 votes, leaving behind BJP-supported Chanchal Kanwar by 397 votes.
In Ward 34, Suresh Yadav of Congress received 4,405 votes and defeated BJP's Piyush Kirad by 149 votes.
With this clean sweep, Congress's tally has increased from 53 to 57. BJP currently stands at 78 seats, while 15 independents have won.
In the 150-member board, BJP is only 2 seats ahead of the majority mark of 76. The combined strength of Congress and independents has reached 72.
Despite being in majority with 78 seats, there is heavy confusion within BJP regarding the selection of the Mayor candidate. Names like Sunil Kothari and Punit Karnawat were already in discussion.
Now, names of Anuradha Maheshwari and Vijay Agarwal have also come forward rapidly. Shailendra Bhargava, Subhash Singhi, Vimal Agarwal, and Bhawani Singh Rajawat are also in the race.
RSS officials have directly entered the scene regarding Mayor candidates. Two major central leaders, including a Union Minister from Rajasthan, are active.
According to sources, lobbying has intensified to promote a new and neutral face. The name of a non-councillor individual associated with a famous religious site is also being discussed.
Caste equations have completely dominated the Mayor post. After the claim of the Vaishya community, the Brahmin community has also put forward its demand.
Akhil Bharatvarshiya Brahmin Mahasabha and Vipra Foundation have met the Chief Minister, demanding a Brahmin face for Mayor.
Representatives of Shri Agarwal Samaj Samiti and Rajput Sabha Jaipur have also submitted memorandums for candidates from their respective communities.
BJP leadership is reminded of the 2019 by-election when the party lost despite having a majority. Then rebel leader Vishnu Lata won with the support of Congress and independents.
Due to the non-applicability of the anti-defection law in the Municipal Corporation, the threat of cross-voting remains. BJP is trying to win over independents to secure its government.
Independent councillor Renu Chaudhary from Ward 80 has joined BJP. BJP claims that more than 50% of independents are in contact with them.
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