The BJP won 4,179 of the 10,235 wards for which results were declared, ahead of the Congress on 3,613, while Independents secured 2,273 seats. The narrow difference in vote share was more striking: the BJP received 35.19 per cent against the Congress’s 34.25 per cent, with Independents accounting for 27.38 per cent.
That statewide advantage did not translate into clear control across many urban bodies. The BJP crossed the halfway mark in only four of the 10 municipal corporations, while the Congress secured a majority in one. Among 47 municipal councils, the BJP won clear majorities in 12 and the Congress in six, with the Aam Aadmi Party securing one.
Bharatpur delivered the sharpest setback for the ruling party. The city is Sharma’s hometown, though he represents Sanganer in Jaipur. Independents won 36 of Bharatpur Municipal Corporation’s 65 wards, compared with 20 for the BJP and seven for the Congress. The remaining two wards went to the BSP and the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party.
The tally is significant because some early summaries grouped all 38 non-BJP and non-Congress winners together. The verified result shows 36 Independents, not 38, with two seats won by smaller parties.
The BJP nevertheless moved to secure the mayoral post after Independents shifted support towards its camp. Its candidate, Anuradha Singh, was positioned to benefit from that support after the party, short of the 33 votes needed for a majority on its own, worked to consolidate backing from councillors outside its ranks.
Pali produced another unfavourable result for the BJP leadership. Rathore’s home city gave the Congress 29 of 65 wards, against 21 for the BJP and 15 Independents. The result denied the ruling party a majority in the state president’s political backyard and gave the Congress the largest bloc.
The BJP also underperformed in Jhalawar Municipal Council, an area associated with former chief minister Vasundhara Raje. The Congress won 29 of the 45 wards there, while the BJP secured 13. The BJP, however, won the Jhalrapatan municipality, Raje’s Assembly constituency.
Other major cities produced a mixed pattern. The BJP secured clear majorities in Udaipur and Bhilwara and emerged ahead in Jaipur, Kota and Alwar. Congress performed strongly in Bikaner, Ajmer and Pali, while Jodhpur produced an exceptionally close contest that left Independents important to the final balance.
The performance of Independents was one of the defining features of the election. Their 2,273 victories meant neither major party could rely solely on its own councillors in a large number of municipal councils and municipalities. Ticket distribution disputes and rebel candidacies contributed to the fragmented results in several places.
Both parties have since focused on securing councillor support ahead of elections for mayors and chairpersons. Congress leaders have accused the BJP of using political and administrative pressure to attract elected councillors, allegations the BJP has rejected. BJP leaders have argued that opposition councillors and Independents are free to support its candidates.
The results also came despite an extensive BJP campaign involving Sharma, Rathore, state ministers and the four Union ministers from Rajasthan. The ruling party retained a clear numerical advantage statewide, but its weaker showing in several leaders’ home territories has drawn attention inside the broader result.
Congress, for its part, did not convert the close statewide vote share into the largest number of ward victories. The BJP finished 566 wards ahead, underscoring how local candidate strength, rebel contests and fragmented voting affected outcomes differently across municipalities.
