In a major shot in the arm for the ruling BJP over halfway through its tenure in Rajasthan, the party is set to form a Board in majority of the urban local bodies, according to the counting trends so far. The results come at a time when the government has been under criticism over several issues. Just a few weeks ago, the perception was that the BJP government had been delaying local body polls because it feared a defeat. The opposition Congress, citing the High Court’s repeated criticism of the government for the delay, had been sending the message that the government, now led by a first time MLA Bhajan Lal Sharma , was not up to the task. By Monday afternoon, the BJP was leading in the majority of the urban local bodies. A total of 309 urban local bodies – 10 Nagar Nigam (municipal corporation), 47 Municipal Councils (Nagar Parishad) and 252 Nagar Palika (Municipality) went to polls. As per Monday afternoon trends, BJP was leading in At least 6 municipal corporations, 21 municipal councils and 110 Municipalities, while the Congress was leading in Ajmer, Bikaner and Pali Nagar Nigams, 16 municipal councils and 95 municipalities. Independent hold the key in Jodhpur, Pali, Bharatpur, Ajmer, Alwar and Bikaner municipal corporations. In Jodhpur, BJP was leading with 46 wards against 43 of Congress and 11 Independents. Similarly, while BJP led in 28 wards of Alwar and Congress had 23, Independents were leading in 14 wards. In Pali, home turf of BJP state president Rathore, although Congress had won 29 as opposed to BJP’s 21, both parties still need Independents to touch the majority mark; as of Monday afternoon, 15 Independents were leading in Pali. In Bharatpur municipal corporation too – home turf of CM Sharma, Independents had won 38 wards, against 20 of BJP and 7 of Congress. In Ajmer, while Congress was leading with 37 of 80 wards, BJP was trailing with 32; here too, Independents held the key with 11 wards. Similarly in Bikaner, while Congress had 35 wards, BJP had 21 and Independents had 8. In Jhalawar municipal council, the home turf of former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje , Congress is leading in nearly 30 of the 45 wards, and BJP is ahead in 13. These results are good news for Chief Minister Sharma and state party president Rathore, both of whom have drawn criticism from various quarters in recent months. The two will be credited for the win: Rathore for his organisational skills and Sharma for being actively involved in the campaign. The NEET paper leak exposed in Rajasthan earlier this year had undone the carefully crafted image that there had been no paper leaks in Rajasthan under the BJP. More recently, the protests by Karni Sena and other upper caste outfits demanding a rollback of UGC regulations, and linking it to local body polls, have come a cropper. Then, the protests for protection of Khejri tree, law and order, and, more recently, by the Cockroach Janta Party over the poor condition of schools in Rajasthan seem to have had limited impact on polls at best. As per past trends, local body polls generally go in favour of ruling party as a local councillor is expected to find it easier to secure funds for his/her ward; in a recent rally, the BJP state chief had said that voting for a BJP candidate would mean that Chief Minister Sharma would give them funds but that he may have second thoughts if it was a Congress councillor. Political analyst Tribhuvan said that as per the past trends, people generally vote for the ruling party in urban local body polls and the BJP has had a stronger presence in urban areas while Congress is known to perform better in rural areas, “But recent reports had indicated that BJP was set to suffer a major loss in these polls. However, it managed to overcome this on the back of its organisational expertise.” “BJP prepared well for these polls, something which wasn’t seen in the Congress party. Congress is also divided into 3-4 factions. And on the ground, there are factions within these factions. And unlike the BJP, Congress had no rally or meeting where all leaders shared a stage,” he said.
