Rajasthan Mayor Election Explainer: Voting for the post of mayor will be held today in three big municipal corporations of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota. The special thing about these elections is that here the common voters will not directly elect the Mayor, but the elected councilors of the Municipal Corporation will elect the Mayor through voting. Voting will continue from 10 am to 2 pm and counting will begin after that. According to the schedule of the State Election Commission, the results will also be revealed on Friday itself.
The electoral mathematics is not the same in these three cities. In Jaipur, one party is above the majority mark, in Kota too there is clear numerical strength, while in Jodhpur both the major parties are below the majority mark. This is the reason why there is maximum discussion about the results of Jodhpur.
How is the mayor elected?
To understand these elections, first of all it is important to know that the mayor of the municipal corporation is not directly elected by the public. The public first elects councilors from their respective wards. After this the elected councilors cast their votes in the election of the mayor.
Therefore, the number of councilors of a party is most important in the mayor election. If a party has majority then the position of its candidate is stronger in terms of numbers. But when no party gets majority in a corporation, then the role of councilors from independent or other parties becomes important. For this reason, the majority figure of the 100-member House in Jodhpur is 51, while both the major parties are far below this number.
The figure is 76 in Jaipur, one party has 78 councilors.
There are a total of 150 wards in Jaipur Municipal Corporation and the support of 76 councilors is required to elect the mayor. According to the available data, one major party has 78 councilors, while Congress has 57 and other councilors including independents are 15.
The contest in Jaipur is between two candidates. On one side is Sunil Kothari of BJP, while Congress has fielded Sunita Mahawar. After the withdrawal of nominations the contest became straightforward.
In terms of numbers, the party with 78 councilors has two seats more than the majority. But since every councilor's vote is important in the Mayor elections, both the camps are insisting on keeping their respective councilors united.
This is why the discussion in Jaipur is not just about the majority figure, but also about possible cross voting and the strategy of the councillors.
Why is every vote important in Jaipur?
In Jaipur the majority figure is 76 and the number of one party is 78. That means on paper he has an additional lead of only two votes. In such a situation, it becomes important to maintain the support of all the councilors of the party.
On the other hand, Congress faces the challenge of gathering support beyond its numbers. Before the elections, different claims have been made by both the parties regarding the support of the councilors. Therefore, the final picture will be clear only after voting.
The election of Jaipur is also in political discussion because the capital is the main center of administrative and political activities of the state.
The numerical strength is clear even in Kota.
There are total 100 councilors in Kota Municipal Corporation. Here 51 votes are required for majority. According to the available data, one major party has 57 councillors, while Congress has 39 and four independent councillors.
There is a contest between Anusuiya Goswami and Sunita Kumari of Congress for the post of Mayor. With 57 councillors, one party has six more seats than the majority.
In this respect, the electoral mathematics in Kota appears more clear than in Jaipur. However, the final decision in the mayor election will be taken by voting and any possible cross voting may affect the result.
Biggest suspense in Jodhpur
There are total 100 councilors in Jodhpur Municipal Corporation and the majority figure is 51. Here there are 45 councilors of one major party and 44 of Congress. The remaining councilors are independent.
That means both the major parties are far from majority and there is a difference of only one seat between them. In such a situation, the stance of independent councilors can play a decisive role in the mayor elections.
Prasanna Chand Mehta and Rajendra Singh Solanki are facing each other for the post of Mayor. Objections were also raised regarding the nomination of both the candidates, but the Returning Officer approved the nomination of both. This is the reason why before the elections in Jodhpur, both the major parties have been active in supporting the independent councillors.
Why do independents have the keys to Jodhpur?
The mathematics of Jodhpur is very simple. 51 votes are required for victory in the 100-member House. But both the major parties have less than 51 councillors.
In this situation, a candidate will have to get the support of independent councilors to reach the majority. If independent councilors go with any one party then the mathematics of the election may change. Even in case of cross voting, the result may be different.
This is the reason that more attention will be paid to the strategy of the councilors and their choices during voting than the candidates in the Jodhpur elections.
Results of many mayor elections have already come
In the municipal corporation election process of Rajasthan, mayor elections have been held in other corporations besides Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota. The results for the post of Mayor have already been declared in seven out of 10 municipal corporations of the state. According to official figures, mayors were elected through elections in Alwar, Ajmer, Udaipur and Pali, while elections were held unopposed in Bharatpur and Bhilwara. Congress candidate won in Bikaner.
An important thing that came to light in these results was that in many places the number of party councilors and the result of mayor elections were not the same. Pali is an example of this, where despite Congress having more councilors, it did not get the post of Mayor.
This makes it clear that in mayor elections, only the number of wards is not enough, but gathering support among the councilors is also important.
What will you keep an eye on the most?
During the voting in the three cities on Friday, mainly three things will be important: the unity of the councilors, possible cross voting and the attitude of the independent councilors.
It will be important for the party which is slightly above the majority in Jaipur to keep its councilors united. Despite crossing the majority mark in Kota, the voting process will be monitored. At the same time, the contest in Jodhpur seems to be completely dependent on numbers and additional support.
Voting will take place from 10 am to 2 pm. After this the counting of votes will begin and the results will be declared on the same day.
After the Mayor, the election of Deputy Mayor will be held on 26th September.
Elections for the post of Deputy Mayor will be held on September 26, the very next day of the mayor's election. The State Election Commission has fixed the same program for the three municipal corporations as well as other related bodies.
In this way, after the process to be held on 25th and 26th September, the new leadership of the municipal corporations of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota will be completely decided.
The importance of these elections is not limited only to the mayor's chair. The Municipal Corporation takes decisions related to city roads, sanitation, urban planning, property tax, local development and many civic services. Therefore, the mayor elected through councilors will play an important role in deciding the direction of local administration of these cities in the future.
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