Counting began on Monday for councillor elections across 309 urban local bodies in Rajasthan, covering 10 municipal corporations, 51 municipal councils, and 248 municipalities. Over 1.44 crore voters were eligible to cast ballots across two phases held on September 9 and September 11, both recording turnouts above seventy percent. Additionally, 77 candidates were elected unopposed before polling.
As results trickled in by mid-morning, the ruling BJP took an early lead over the Congress. The BJP had won nearly 2,000 wards and the Congress over 1,600, while independent candidates secured more than 1,000 seats. Smaller parties—including the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, the Bharat Adivasi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the CPI(M), and the Aam Aadmi Party—each secured a modest number of wards. Results for fewer than half of the total 10,245 wards had been declared by that stage, with counting continuing under tight security.
After councillor results are finalised, elections for mayors and council chairpersons are scheduled for September 21, with deputy mayors and deputy chairpersons to follow the next day. The outcome will decide control of civic administration across the state’s towns and cities for the coming term.