Congress candidate Ramavatar Saini won the Tijara Municipal Council Chairperson election late on Monday, 22 September, after the Rajasthan High Court intervened to extend the voting deadline — first to 8 p.m. and subsequently to 10 p.m. — amid allegations that Congress-backed councilors had been intercepted and prevented from reaching the polling station in time. Saini secured the post with exactly 18 votes, the bare minimum required in the 35-member council.

How the controversy unfolded

The dispute began in the early hours of Monday when Congress leaders alleged that several councilors, returning from a party camp in Himachal Pradesh, were stopped near Panchkula while entering Haryana and were unable to reach Tijara in time for the originally scheduled vote. Congress leaders claimed that affected councilors had sent video messages stating they had been taken to an undisclosed location and feared for their safety.

As early as 3:30 a.m., former MLA Sandeep Yadav, District Congress President Balram Yadav, and candidate Ramavatar Saini, accompanied by party workers, arrived at the Returning Officer's residence to demand postponement of the election until the detained councilors were safely brought back. A formal complaint was lodged with Tijara police station SHO Jaiprakash.

Rajasthan High Court steps in

The matter was heard before a single bench of the Rajasthan High Court presided over by Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand. The court directed the ADM of Bhiwadi to submit a detailed report on the incident to the State Election Commission. Following these developments, the State Election Commission extended the voting window to accommodate the delayed councilors.

Congress leaders also separately alleged that former MLA Sandeep Yadav was detained for several hours at Farrukhnagar near Gurugram. The police version of events had not been officially released at the time this report was filed.

Voting and result

By 2 p.m., only 16 of the 35 councilors had cast their votes. Under the State Election Commission's revised order, voting continued until 10 p.m., with instructions that counting would commence immediately once all votes were cast before the deadline. Returning Officer and SDM Divya declared Saini the winner after 10 p.m. and handed him the certificate of election.

Political backdrop

Congress workers staged protests outside the police station through the day, raising slogans demanding safe passage for the councilors. The chain of events — a party camp out of state, alleged interception of councilors on their return, and a High Court-extended ballot — mirrors tactics seen in other local-body and floor-management contests in Rajasthan. Notably, this is the latest in a series of municipal-level political battles in the state that have required judicial intervention to run their course.

With the result now declared, the focus shifts to whether the State Election Commission will act on the ADM's report and whether the opposition will mount a formal legal challenge to the outcome.