The scrutiny of nomination papers for elections to 309 urban local bodies in Rajasthan was completed on Tuesday, with several disputes emerging across Jaipur, Bhilwara, Sikar, Ajmer, Jhalawar, Pali, Chittorgarh, Alwar and other cities. Cases included rejection of nominations, party symbols not being submitted on time, authorised candidates not filing nominations and dissent over ticket distribution.
A dispute has emerged in the Bhilwara Municipal Corporation election over 17 Congress candidates whose party symbols were not submitted on time. Pradesh Congress Committee member Manoj Paliwal has made serious allegations against Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasra and Bhilwara Dehat Congress leader Mahesh Soni.
According to Paliwal, Congress had completed the process of selecting candidates for all 70 municipal corporation wards. He said the party's authorised symbols had to reach the election officer by 3 pm on August 31, the final day for filing nominations. However, only 53 symbols had been submitted by the deadline, leaving 17 symbols undelivered. As a result, the nominations of the concerned candidates could not be recognised as those of Congress candidates.
Paliwal described the matter as serious organisational negligence and wrote to Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, seeking the formation of a committee to investigate the issue and action against those responsible. The concerned leaders may present a different version, and the final position will become clear through an official inquiry or the decision taken in the election process.
The nomination of Congress candidate Jwala Prasad from Ward 111 of Jaipur Municipal Corporation was rejected by the returning officer. The decision was taken after information related to a pending criminal case against him emerged during scrutiny.
The case reportedly carries a provision for a sentence of more than five years, and the court has already taken cognisance of the matter. According to the record, charges were framed in the case on August 29, 2024. On this basis, the election officer did not accept the nomination paper.
BJP had declared Afsana as its candidate from Ward 146 of Jaipur Municipal Corporation, but she did not file her nomination paper. As a result, the BJP has no authorised candidate remaining in the ward.
Congress has fielded Afroz from the ward.
A similar situation emerged in the Sikar urban local body elections over BJP's ticket distribution and nominations. BJP had declared Mohammad Asif as its authorised candidate from Ward 4, but he did not file his nomination. Subhash Chandra Sharma filed a nomination from the same ward on behalf of the BJP. Under the party's rules, he may receive the party symbol.
In Ward 23, BJP had named Mohammad Sahid as its authorised candidate, but he did not file a nomination. Pawan Kumar filed a nomination on behalf of the party, leaving open the possibility of his becoming the candidate on the basis of the party symbol.
In Ward 16, BJP had declared Mohammad Wasim as its authorised candidate. Wasim, Istak and Anita filed nominations on behalf of the BJP. During scrutiny, the nominations of Wasim and Istak were rejected, leaving Anita as the party's authorised candidate.
Three major nominations were rejected during scrutiny of nomination papers filed for the 45 wards of Jhalawar Municipal Council. Congress candidate Pushpendra Singh's nomination from Ward 5 was rejected over reasons related to Home Guard service. With only BJP candidate Pradeep Singh Rajawat's nomination remaining in the ward, he was declared elected unopposed.
In Ward 7, BJP candidate Sagar Kahar's nomination was rejected because of a case. With Congress candidate Mahendra Singh's nomination remaining, he was also declared elected unopposed.
In Ward 31, the rejection of Congress candidate Shahrukh's nomination left a direct contest between candidates of the BJP and Aam Aadmi Party.
In the Pali Municipal Corporation election, Congress alleged that two of its party symbols had gone missing from the administration's records. Congress observer Hemsingh Shekhawat claimed that the party had submitted 65 symbols before the prescribed deadline, but two symbols were later reported to be missing.
Congress described the matter as serious for the democratic process and accused the administration of working under pressure. BJP district president Sushil Bhandari rejected the Congress allegations as baseless. Administrative records and the official process will be important in determining the position in the matter.
The Congress and BJP are facing the challenge of rebel candidates in the Ajmer Municipal Corporation election following ticket distribution. According to the report, 92 Congress rebels and 36 BJP rebels are in the electoral fray. In the 80-ward municipal corporation, some wards have direct contests while others have triangular contests.
Leaders dissatisfied with party tickets have entered the election as independents, creating a challenge for the authorised candidates of both major parties.
Four BJP leaders dissatisfied with ticket distribution in the Ajmer South Assembly constituency resigned from the party and announced that they would contest the election as independents. They include leaders who have served as former mandal presidents and former councillors and have held various organisational responsibilities.
In Ward 98 of Jaipur's Civil Lines area, BJP workers also opposed the allocation of a ticket to an alleged parachute candidate. The workers alleged that people who had been active in the area for a long time were overlooked in favour of an outsider.
A dispute arose between Congress and BJP leaders and the returning officer during scrutiny of nominations in Chittorgarh Municipal Council. In Ward 34, Congress candidate Shantilal had raised an objection to the nomination of BJP candidate Ramesh Chandra Meena.
The objection cited an old criminal case. The returning officer rejected the objection and accepted the BJP candidate's nomination. Congress leaders then protested, leading to a heated exchange between former MLA Surendra Singh Jadawat and the officer.
Information has emerged about 22 rebel Congress candidates in the Udaipur Municipal Corporation election. The party has said it has started efforts to persuade the rebels through discussions.
In Kota Municipal Corporation, reports of an internal dispute over Congress's ticket distribution have also emerged. Differences among leaders over candidate selection reached the state leadership.After completion of scrutiny, candidates now have an opportunity to withdraw their nominations. According to the scheduled programme, the withdrawal process will continue until 3 pm on September 3. The final list of candidates contesting the election will be released the same day. Election symbols will be allotted to candidates on September 4.
The final electoral contests in Rajasthan's urban local body elections will become clear after this process. Several wards have already seen changes in the electoral equations due to rebels, independent candidates and rejected nominations.
