Jaipur, Sep 25 (IANS): BJP candidate Prasannchand Mehta has been elected Mayor of the Jodhpur Municipal Corporation after securing 53 votes in the mayoral election held on Thursday. Congress candidate Rajendra Solanki received 47 votes.
The majority mark in the 100-member Jodhpur Municipal Corporation was 51 votes. Mehta crossed the majority mark by two votes to win the mayoral post.
The contest was between Mehta and Solanki, who had been cleared by the returning officer for the September 25 election.
The BJP had entered the election claiming the support of seven independent councillors, taking its strength to 52 — one above the majority mark. The Independents and RLP councillor held 11 seats.
BJP district president Rajendra Paliwal became emotional following the party’s victory. When Jodhpur City MLA Atul Bhansali arrived, Paliwal embraced him and lifted him in celebration.
After his victory, Prasannchand Mehta said he had secured 53 votes. With Diwali approaching, he said improving the city’s roads would be among his immediate priorities.
Congress councillor Naresh Joshi alleged that the secrecy of voting was compromised through serial numbers marked on the ballot papers. Joshi said he had received information about the issue earlier in the morning and alleged that the numbers could reveal which councillor had voted for which candidate.
He claimed that this could undermine the credibility of the voting process.
The allegation was made by Congress during the voting process. No independent verification of the allegation was immediately available.
BJP and Congress councillors reached the Municipal Corporation office in buses to cast their votes. Independent councillors accompanied the BJP group, while councillors from both parties left in buses after voting.
Congress leaders also alleged that BJP workers obstructed a bus carrying Congress councillors and pelted stones at it. Congress leader Karan Singh Uchiyarda alleged that BJP workers sat in front of the bus and raised slogans. He claimed that stones were thrown when the bus attempted to move and described the incident as an administrative failure. The Jodhpur Municipal Corporation has 100 seats.
The initial election results gave BJP: 45, Congress: 44, Independents: 10 and RLP: 1 seat.
Following the election results, the BJP claimed the support of seven independent councillors, taking its claimed strength to 52. The majority mark was 51.
Congress had also claimed support from independent councillors ahead of the election.
Prasannchand Mehta is the BJP councillor from Ward 82. He has an RSS background and has held several organisational positions in the BJP, including district president and state vice-president.
He is also considered close to former Rajasthan Assembly Speaker and Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria.
Mehta won the Ward 82 councillor election with 3,270 votes, defeating his Congress rival by 486 votes.
