{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "Rajasthan Civic Polls 2026: BJP Picks Sunil Kothari for Jaipur and Prasann Chand Mehta for Jodhpur as Nomination Closes",
  "summary": "High political drama marked the final day of nominations across Rajasthan urban local bodies as the BJP finalized mayoral picks for Jaipur and Jodhpur, while disputes, abductions claims, and protests erupted in several districts.",
  "content": "Intense political maneuvering reached a climax across urban civic bodies in Rajasthan as the deadline for filing nomination papers for heads of municipal corporations arrived. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party settled its choices in the key metropolitan hubs of Jaipur and Jodhpur, setting the stage for direct confrontations. In the state capital, the party placed its bets on Sunil Kothari, a victorious councilor from Ward 112 with deep organizational roots, while in the premier western hub of Jodhpur, veteran cadre Prasann Chand Mehta emerged as the party's mayoral standard-bearer. Alongside the high-profile candidacies, municipal politics across surrounding districts witnessed intense resort diplomacy, criminal accusations, protests, and election-related violence.\n\nJaipur Mayoral Race: Kothari Fielded; Congress Evaluates Three Frontrunners\nIn Jaipur Municipal Corporation, which comprises 150 wards, the mayoral office is reserved for the general category. Officials arranged nomination submissions inside room number 204 of the civic headquarters at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Auditorium between 10:30 AM and 3:00 PM. Not a single candidate had entered the race by September 18, keeping the suspense alive until the eleventh hour. Senior party strategists decided to field a face from the Vaishya community, ultimately finalizing Kothari's candidature around noon before his scheduled 2:00 PM filing. Under the gazetted election schedule, formal scrutiny of all documents will take place until 3:00 PM on September 21, followed by a withdrawal window ending at 3:00 PM on September 22. If voting becomes necessary, councilors will cast ballots between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM on September 25.\n\nMeanwhile, the Congress camp engaged in prolonged discussions over three shortlisted aspirants: Bharat Meghwal, Dharm Singh Singhania, and Sunita Mawar. Jaipur city Congress chief Sunil Sharma coordinated the distribution of election symbols as the party aimed to complete its filing formalities before the afternoon cutoff.\n\nGuarded Encampment in Pushkar Ahead of Floor Test\nTo guard against cross-voting or poaching attempts, the BJP sequestered 78 of its victorious councilors alongside several independent members at a resort located near Kharkhedi on Pushkar Road, within the Ganj police precinct of Ajmer. With 150 members in the council, the party maintains that it commands a decisive working majority against the Congress tally of 57 and an independent bloc of 15 members. The party intends to keep its voting contingent under close coordination until the formal election proceedings conclude.\n\nJodhpur Contest: Mehta Submits Nomination After Temple Visit\nIn Jodhpur, the BJP nominated long-time party worker Prasann Chand Mehta for the top municipal post. Ahead of submitting his paperwork, Mehta offered prayers and sought blessings at the Pal Balaji temple alongside BJP state general secretary and divisional in-charge Bhupendra Saini and district unit chief Rajendra Paliwal. The delegation then proceeded to room number 307 on the third floor of the municipal corporation headquarters, accompanied by legislators Devendra Joshi and Atul Bhansali.\n\nThe electoral arithmetic in Jodhpur's 100-ward corporation is closely divided, with the BJP holding 45 seats and Congress securing 44 seats, followed by 10 independents and one representative from the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party. While the BJP needed six additional votes and Congress needed seven to reach the majority mark of 51, the BJP consolidated its position by welcoming seven independent councilors into its fold. Following the filing deadline, document scrutiny is scheduled for September 21, and the deadline for voluntary withdrawals expires on September 22.\n\nCross-Border Standoff in Sangaria and Video Reveal in Nathdwara\nMunicipal chairperson elections in Sangaria, Hanumangarh district, sparked cross-border police intervention into neighboring Punjab late Friday night. Following a formal missing-person complaint regarding two municipal members, Omprakash Swami and Sahil Swami, Rajasthan police tracked them to a hotel where Congress representatives were being housed. A heated confrontation erupted at the site between police personnel and Sangaria legislator Abhimanyu Poonia, who accused the state administration of abusing state machinery to intimidate elected members. However, police officers recorded formal statements from both councilors, who denied being held against their will and stated they had traveled voluntarily.\n\nIn Rajsamand district's Nathdwara, controversy surrounding Ward 4 councilor Pradeep Kabra took an unexpected turn. Days after Kabra's son threatened self-immolation alleging that his father had been unlawfully detained, a video surfaced showing Kabra seated alongside fellow BJP councilors. While Kabra previously accused local police of harassing him to prevent his candidacy, he stated in the footage that all elected BJP members remain united and will elect a party board on September 21.\n\nHanumangarh Collectorate Gherao and MLA Dharna in Pali\nTensions flared in Hanumangarh after local police registered two criminal cases against independent legislator Ganesharaj Bansal at the Junction police station over alleged distribution of fraudulent lease deeds. Simultaneously, inspections were launched by agriculture and food enforcement teams at an affiliated hotel and fertilizer store. Protesting the action, Communist Party of India (Marxist) cadre and Bansal's supporters blockaded the district collectorate, alleging that the cases were politically motivated retribution ahead of the municipal council chairperson election, where Bansal's faction commands majority backing.\n\nIn Pali, Congress legislator Bhimraj Bhati staged an open-air sit-in outside the district collectorate over deteriorating law and order. The overnight protest began after Bhati's brother was assaulted while returning from submitting the nomination symbol for the party's mayoral candidate. Bhati, who spent the night at the protest site, criticized district police for failing to apprehend the named assailants, warning that public safety in the city had deteriorated significantly.\n\nIncidents in Suratgarh, Alwar, and Bhiwadi\nIn Suratgarh, Ward 43 councilor Krishna Beniwal and his brother went missing while returning from Bikaner late at night. The sudden loss of contact prompted anxious family members and ward residents to protest outside the Suratgarh City police station, demanding immediate tracing of both men.\n\nPost-election friction escalated into violence in Belaka village within Alwar's Vaishali Nagar precinct after independent councilor Anita from Ward 40 pledged support to help form a BJP municipal board. Opponents led by Abdul Razzaq and family members allegedly ambushed Anita's supporters with sticks and iron rods, inflicting severe head injuries on local residents Abbas and Yaqub, who were subsequently admitted to Alwar General Hospital.\n\nMeanwhile, in Bhiwadi's UIT Sector 9 within Khairthal-Tijara district, defeated independent contestant Mahendra Kumar Sharma accused newly elected Ward 25 BJP councilor Devendra Yadav of burying dead cattle behind residential premises to settle election scores. Following widespread neighborhood protests, civic authorities deployed machinery to exhumed the carcass and relocate it away from residential quarters.\n\nDouble Murder Conviction in Jhalawar Court\nIn judicial proceedings, the Additional District and Sessions Court in Jhalawar concluded the trial in a two-year-old double murder case from Malanwasa village under the Sarola police jurisdiction. The court convicted three men of murdering two relatives over an ongoing personal feud, sentencing each to life imprisonment alongside an individual fine of 25,000 rupees. The conviction was secured following the presentation of 25 witnesses and 71 documentary exhibits by the prosecution.\n\nWhat this means for you\nThe conclusion of urban local body head elections across Rajasthan will determine municipal governance priorities and local civic infrastructure projects.\n\n• In Jaipur and Jodhpur: The appointment of new mayors will accelerate pending municipal infrastructure, sanitation drives, and road resurfacing projects. Residents will see direct allocation of ward funds once civic boards formally take oath.\n• For local ward residents: Routine administrative services and civic grievance redressal may face short-term delays due to ongoing councillor encampments. Normal administrative operations at municipal zonal offices will normalize only after boards are instituted.\n• Law and order enforcement: Intensified police patrolling and scrutiny will persist in violence-affected pockets like Alwar, Suratgarh, and Hanumangarh. Residents in sensitive areas should plan commutes around anticipated political gatherings and dharnas.\n• Civic governance timeline: With voting scheduled by September 25, new urban municipal boards will formally assume charge by late September. Essential local services including property lease registrations, commercial permits, and sanitation tenders will resume standard scheduling thereafter.\n\nWhy this happened\nThe intense confrontations and high-stakes maneuvering stem from narrow municipal mandates and the scramble to secure leadership posts in premier local bodies.\n\n• Fractured mandates and independent powerbrokers: Slim margins between the two major parties in places like Jodhpur left independent members holding the balance of power. Consequently, parties initiated defensive resort encampments to prevent defections and cross-voting.\n• Post-poll retaliatory friction: Unaligned candidates crossing over to form majorities triggered intense backlash from rival neighborhood factions, leading to physical altercations in Alwar and Bhiwadi. Grievances over board formations quickly degenerated into local clashes.\n• Administrative friction and weaponized complaints: Heightened political suspicion led opposition leaders to allege that state regulatory and policing bodies were being deployed to weaken opposing factions before the mayoral voting rounds.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. Who is the BJP mayoral candidate for Jaipur Municipal Corporation?\nThe BJP has selected Sunil Kothari, the newly elected councilor from Ward 112, as its candidate for the post.\n\n2. Whom did the BJP field for the mayor's seat in Jodhpur?\nThe BJP nominated long-time party member Prasann Chand Mehta for the Jodhpur mayoral contest.\n\n3. When will voting take place for the Jaipur mayor if contested?\nIf an election is required, voting among elected councilors will take place on September 25 between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM.\n\n4. What is the seat tally in the Jodhpur Municipal Corporation?\nAcross 100 wards, the BJP won 45 seats, Congress secured 44, independents captured 10, and the RLP won one seat.\n\n5. Why did MLA Bhimraj Bhati sit on a dharna in Pali?\nHe launched an overnight sit-in protesting the failure of police to arrest individuals who assaulted his brother after symbol submission.\n\n6. What verdict did the Jhalawar court deliver in the double murder case?\nThe court handed down life imprisonment and a fine of 25,000 rupees each to three men for the murder of two relatives in Malanwasa.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/rajasthan/rajasthan-nikay-chunav-2026-jaipur-mein-sunil-kothari-aur-jodhpur-mein-prasann-chand-mehta-bane-bjp-candidate-33734",
  "category": "Rajasthan",
  "publishedAt": "2026-09-19",
  "tags": [
    "Rajasthan Civic Polls",
    "Jaipur Municipal Corporation",
    "Sunil Kothari",
    "Jodhpur Mayor",
    "Prasann Chand Mehta",
    "BJP",
    "Congress Resort Politics"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia"
}