Rajasthan local body polls: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bikaner Mayor posts open
Synopsis
Rajasthan's reservation lottery for 309 urban local body heads has left the four biggest Mayoral prizes — Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, and Bikaner — open to all categories, while Kota goes to an OBC woman. The offline process, demanded by parties over transparency fears, now sets the political chessboard for one of the state's most consequential local election cycles.
Key Takeaways
The Rajasthan Department of Local Self-Government conducted the reservation lottery on 13 August 2025 in Jaipur for 309 urban local body posts.
Mayoral posts of Jaipur , Jodhpur , Udaipur , and Bikaner Municipal Corporations placed in the unreserved (open) category .
Kota Municipal Corporation Mayor post reserved for an OBC woman ; Alwar , Ajmer , Bhilwara , Bharatpur , and Pali reserved for general-category women .
Of 309 posts: 50 for SC (16 SC women), 11 for ST (3 ST women), 60 for OBC (21 OBC women), 188 unreserved (62 for women).
Lottery held offline with party representatives present after concerns were raised about online transparency.
Key shifts: Udaipur moves from OBC to open; Bikaner from general-woman to open; Ajmer from SC-woman to general-woman.
The Rajasthan Department of Local Self-Government conducted an offline reservation lottery on Thursday, 13 August 2025, in Jaipur, determining the reservation status of heads of 309 urban local bodies across the state — a key administrative milestone ahead of the upcoming Rajasthan local body elections. The exercise sets the stage for intensified candidate selection by political parties across all major municipal corporations.
Major Corporations: Who Gets What
The Mayoral posts of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, and Bikaner Municipal Corporations have been placed in the unreserved (open) category, meaning candidates from any category may contest. The Kota Municipal Corporation Mayoral post has been reserved for an OBC woman. The Mayoral posts of Alwar, Ajmer, Bhilwara, Bharatpur, and Pali have been reserved for women under the general category.
Reservation Breakdown Across 309 Bodies
Of the 309 posts covered by the lottery, 50 have been reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates — including 16 for SC women. 11 posts go to Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, including 3 for ST women. 60 posts are reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBC), including 21 for OBC women. The remaining 188 posts are unreserved, of which 62 are reserved for women.
Key Shifts from Previous Reservation Arrangements
The results mark notable changes from the prior reservation cycle. Ajmer moves from an SC-woman reservation to a general-woman reservation. Bikaner shifts from general-woman to open general. Udaipur, previously reserved for OBC candidates, has now been placed in the open category. These changes will directly reshape the candidate calculus for all major parties.
Why the Lottery Was Held Offline
The lottery was conducted offline at the Department of Local Self-Government in Jaipur, with representatives of political parties present as observers. The offline format was adopted after political parties raised transparency concerns over conducting the process online — a procedural concession that reflects the high political stakes attached to the reservation outcome.
Division-Wise OBC and Other Reservations
Across Rajasthan's administrative divisions, several urban local bodies were assigned OBC reservations. In the Ajmer division, bodies including Nawa, Nagaur, Hamirgarh, Ladnun, Didwana, and Jaitaran were reserved for OBC candidates, with three additionally reserved for OBC women. In the Kota division, Aklera, Jhalawar, Anta, and Suket were placed in the OBC category. The Bikaner division saw Lunkaransar, Sujangarh, Sardarshahar, Churu, and Nokha reserved for OBC candidates.
In the Bharatpur division, Rajakheda and Sarmathura were reserved for OBC women, while Sawai Madhopur and Brijnagar were assigned the OBC category. Several bodies in the Jaipur division — including Neemrana, Bhiwadi, Dausa, Chirawa, and Dundlod — were placed in the OBC category, with Bandikui, Dausa, Khetri, and Neemrana among those reserved for OBC women. In the Udaipur division, Sagwara and Devgarh were reserved for OBC women, while Dhariyawad, Kanor, and Kushalgarh went to OBC candidates.
What Comes Next
The reservation lottery is one of several administrative prerequisites before the election process formally begins — alongside delimitation and other preparatory steps. With the four largest Mayoral posts now open to all categories, political parties are expected to accelerate internal discussions on candidate selection. The final reservation list will govern which categories are eligible to contest each post when the election schedule is formally announced.
Point of View
Particularly for the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress ahead of a cycle where urban governance credibility is under scrutiny. The shift of Udaipur from OBC to open, and Bikaner from general-woman to open, will unsettle candidate pipelines that were already being built around the previous reservation order. The insistence on an offline lottery — driven by party pressure — also signals how deeply politicised the reservation process itself has become, even before a single candidate is named.
NationPress
13 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Rajasthan local body reservation lottery?
It is an official draw conducted by the Rajasthan Department of Local Self-Government to determine which social categories — SC, ST, OBC, women, or open — are eligible to contest the top posts in each of the state's 309 urban local bodies. The lottery is a mandatory step before local body elections can be formally scheduled.
Which Mayoral posts are in the open (unreserved) category?
The Mayoral posts of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, and Bikaner Municipal Corporations have been placed in the unreserved (open) category, allowing candidates from any social category to contest. This is a change from the previous cycle, where Udaipur was reserved for OBC and Bikaner for general women.
Which Mayoral post has been reserved for an OBC woman?
The Kota Municipal Corporation Mayoral post has been reserved for an OBC woman in the current reservation lottery.
Why was the lottery conducted offline?
The offline format was adopted after political parties raised concerns about transparency in conducting the lottery online. Party representatives were present during the offline draw at the Department of Local Self-Government in Jaipur.
How does the reservation break down across the 309 urban local bodies?
Of the 309 posts, 50 are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates including 16 for SC women, 11 for Scheduled Tribe (ST) including 3 for ST women, 60 for OBC including 21 for OBC women, and 188 are unreserved — of which 62 are reserved for women.
