Resort Politics Returns to Rajasthan

• The BJP has clear majorities in four of Rajasthan’s 10 municipal corporations, while Congress has a majority in Bikaner.
• Independents are decisive in several corporations, including Jodhpur, Ajmer, Alwar, Pali and Bharatpur.
• Parties have moved elected councillors to hotels and resorts ahead of mayor and chairperson elections.
• Congress and BJP have exchanged allegations over attempts to influence councillors, while the BJP has rejected the allegations.

GG News Bureau
Jaipur, 19th Sept: Resort politics has returned to Rajasthan after the urban local body election results left several municipal corporations, councils and municipalities without clear majorities. With elections for mayors and chairpersons approaching, the BJP and Congress are keeping close watch on their councillors amid concerns over cross-voting and defections.

The political uncertainty is particularly visible in corporations where the two major parties are separated by only a few seats and independents can determine the composition of the governing board.

The BJP secured clear majorities in Jaipur, Kota, Udaipur and Bhilwara, while Congress won a majority in Bikaner. In Jodhpur, Ajmer, Alwar and Pali, neither major party initially crossed the majority mark, leaving independents with a decisive role. Bharatpur produced an unusual result, with independents winning 36 of 65 wards.

In Ajmer, Congress won 37 of 80 wards, compared with 32 for the BJP, while 11 seats went to independents and rebels. A majority requires 41 votes, making the independents crucial to the mayoral contest. Both parties have moved their councillors to secure locations amid concerns over cross-voting.

The contest in Jodhpur has also remained closely watched. The BJP and Congress initially won 44 seats each in the 100-member corporation, with independents holding the remaining seats. Subsequent political developments saw seven independents extend support to the BJP, taking its claimed strength to 52.

Jaipur presents a different arithmetic. The BJP won 78 of the 150 wards, while Congress secured 53. Despite the BJP’s numerical advantage, Congress has indicated that it will field a mayoral candidate and has claimed that some BJP councillors are in contact with the opposition.

The resort strategy is not new to Rajasthan politics, but its return at the local-government level has drawn particular attention because the anti-defection provisions applicable to legislatures do not operate in the same manner in local-body elections.

Both parties have also traded allegations over attempts to influence councillors. Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has alleged that the BJP is attempting to use pressure and inducements to form municipal boards. The BJP has rejected such allegations, saying councillors are free to make their political choices.

The Congress has separately alleged that police visits to locations where its councillors were staying were intended to put pressure on them. Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasara questioned the purpose of such visits, while state Home Minister Jawahar Singh Bedam rejected the allegations and said police have a duty to investigate when missing-person complaints are filed.

The developments have turned the period between the declaration of results and the election of mayors and chairpersons into a closely watched phase of political negotiations. With independents holding the balance in several urban bodies, individual councillors could play a decisive role in determining who controls local governments across Rajasthan.