Ajmer civic polls: Congress leads with 37 seats, ends BJP's 36-year hold; Independents hold balance
Synopsis
For the first time in 36 years, the BJP has lost control of the Ajmer Municipal Corporation — Congress leads with 37 seats but falls short of a majority. With 11 Independents holding the balance, Ajmer's next mayor will be decided not at the ballot box but in the backroom, making this one of Rajasthan's most consequential civic verdicts in decades.
Key Takeaways
Congress won 37 of 80 wards in the Ajmer Municipal Corporation election, emerging as the single-largest party.
BJP secured 32 seats — down from 48 in the previous election — ending its 36-year hold on the corporation.
11 Independent councillors hold the balance of power, with the majority mark set at 41 seats .
Voter turnout stood at 65.48 per cent , with 2,86,823 of 4,38,039 registered voters casting ballots.
BJP's mayoral frontrunner Madhu Shekhawat was defeated in Ward 59 by Congress's Babita Chauhan .
21-year-old Kashyapi Sankhla is among the youngest councillors elected in the current urban local body round.
Congress has emerged as the single-largest party in the Ajmer Municipal Corporation elections, winning 37 of 80 wards, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 32 seats and Independent candidates claimed 11. With neither major party crossing the 41-seat majority threshold, the 11 Independent councillors are now positioned as decisive kingmakers in the formation of Ajmer's next municipal board — a result that ends the BJP's uninterrupted grip on the city's civic body spanning 36 years.
A Historic Shift in Ajmer's Civic Politics
The scale of the BJP's reversal becomes clear when set against the previous election, in which the party won 48 seats against Congress's 18, one for the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), and 13 for Independents. This time, the BJP has not only lost its majority but also slipped behind Congress in the seat count — a dramatic swing in a corporation it had dominated since the late 1980s.
This is a landmark result for Rajasthan's urban local body politics. The outcome suggests that voter consolidation around anti-incumbency at the civic level can override even deeply entrenched municipal machines.
Key Upsets and Notable Results
One of the most closely watched contests was in Ward 59, where Congress candidate Babita Chauhan defeated Madhu Shekhawat of the BJP. Madhu, wife of former corporation chairman Surendra Singh Shekhawat, had been widely considered a strong candidate for the mayor's post — making her defeat one of the election's defining moments.
In Ward 4, Monica Jain — who had switched from Congress to the BJP — defeated her opponent. The ward is considered a stronghold of Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani, adding political significance to the result. Meanwhile, Hema Gehlot, wife of former mayor Dharmendra Gehlot, who had parted ways with the BJP, also faced defeat.
In Ward 80, 21-year-old Kashyapi Sankhla, daughter of BJP leader Chandresh Sankhla, won her contest, becoming one of the youngest councillors elected in the current round of urban local body elections. Following her victory, her father expressed gratitude to the ward's residents.
Former BJP councillor Ruby Jain, who rebelled against the party and contested as an Independent from Ward 74, also secured a win. 'The people themselves had ensured that my nomination was filed,' she said after her victory, describing the result as a public mandate.
Voter Turnout and Contest Scale
The 80-ward contest saw a total of 360 candidates in the fray — 77 from Congress, 79 from the BJP, and 204 Independents and candidates from other parties. Of the 4,38,039 registered voters in the Ajmer Municipal Corporation, 2,86,823 exercised their franchise, yielding an overall voter turnout of 65.48 per cent.
What Happens Next
With the BJP and Congress both short of a majority, the focus now shifts to negotiations with the 11 Independent councillors, whose collective support will determine which party forms the municipal board and ultimately nominates the next mayor. Both parties are expected to begin outreach immediately. The outcome of these negotiations will test whether Congress can convert its plurality into governing control, or whether the BJP leverages its deeper organisational roots in the city to engineer a comeback through coalition arithmetic.
Point of View
However, lies with the 11 Independents: their willingness to be absorbed — and at what price — will reveal the transactional dynamics that actually govern small-city Indian politics, far from the ideological framing of national campaigns.
NationPress
14 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the Ajmer Municipal Corporation election?
Congress emerged as the largest party with 37 seats out of 80, followed by the BJP with 32 seats and Independents with 11. No party won an outright majority, as 41 seats are needed to form the municipal board.
Why is this result significant for the BJP?
The BJP had controlled the Ajmer Municipal Corporation for 36 consecutive years. In the previous election it won 48 seats; this time it slipped to 32, making this its worst performance in the city's civic polls in over three decades.
Who are the kingmakers in Ajmer Municipal Corporation?
The 11 Independent councillors hold the balance of power. Both Congress and the BJP will need to negotiate with them to secure the 41 seats required to form the municipal board and nominate the next mayor.
What was the voter turnout in the Ajmer civic polls?
The voter turnout was 65.48 per cent. Of 4,38,039 registered voters, 2,86,823 cast their ballots across 80 wards that saw 360 candidates in total.
What were the biggest upsets in the Ajmer Municipal Corporation results?
The most notable upset was in Ward 59, where Congress's Babita Chauhan defeated Madhu Shekhawat, wife of former chairman Surendra Singh Shekhawat and a widely anticipated mayoral candidate for the BJP. Former BJP councillor Ruby Jain also won from Ward 74 as an Independent after rebelling against the party.
