Rajasthan Civic Poll Results 2026: BJP Takes Early Lead as Counting Continues
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has opened an early lead over the Congress as counting gets underway for Rajasthan’s 2026 urban local body elections, with results being declared across the state on Monday.
As of around 10 a.m., the BJP was leading on 105 seats compared with 65 for the Congress in the early trends reported from the counting process. The BJP was also ahead in four of Rajasthan’s seven municipal corporations, according to the latest available election-result updates.
Counting began at 8 a.m. under security arrangements across the state. The results are being released ward by ward, meaning the overall picture is expected to change as more rounds are counted.
The elections cover Rajasthan’s urban local bodies, with the contest involving thousands of candidates across municipal corporations, councils and municipalities.
BJP opens early lead as counting continues
The early numbers give the BJP an advantage, but they do not yet represent the final statewide result.
Jaipur is among the most closely watched contests. The Jaipur Municipal Corporation has 150 wards, with counting taking place Monday. Early results from Jaipur showed the BJP winning 20 wards and Congress seven as counting progressed.
Other major urban centres being closely monitored include Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur, Ajmer and Bikaner.
The BJP’s lead is particularly significant because the urban local body elections provide a broad test of the ruling party’s support in Rajasthan’s cities and towns. Congress is seeking to make gains in areas where local issues, civic services and candidate-level factors can play a major role.
Voting was held in two phases
Rajasthan conducted its urban local body elections in two phases on September 9 and September 11, with counting scheduled for September 14.
The second phase included several of the state’s major municipal corporations and councils. More than 18,000 candidates contested seats in 4,852 wards in that phase alone.
Turnout was high. The second phase recorded 70.68% voter participation, while the overall turnout across the two phases was reported at 72.95%.
The election process was not entirely free of controversy. Authorities received reports of electronic voting machine problems in some areas, while allegations of bogus voting and isolated clashes were also reported during polling.
Those incidents did not prevent the counting process from beginning as scheduled.
Jaipur remains a key political contest
Jaipur is one of the most politically important battlegrounds in the civic elections.
The city’s municipal structure has been reshaped following delimitation, changing the boundaries and electoral composition of several wards. Both BJP and Congress adjusted their candidate strategies accordingly.
The BJP had fielded candidates in areas where its presence had previously been limited, while Congress also sought to broaden its appeal in several wards.
Early results from Jaipur showed the BJP ahead in the first group of declared wards, although the final composition of the corporation will depend on the remaining results.
Congress faces early deficit
The initial trends put Congress behind the BJP, although the party remained competitive in some urban bodies.
Local elections can differ considerably from state and national contests because candidates, ward-level issues and independent contestants often have a greater influence on the outcome.
The presence of independent candidates is also important in Rajasthan’s civic polls. In the run-up to voting, 77 candidates had already been elected unopposed, including 44 BJP candidates, 16 Congress candidates and 17 independents.
Those uncontested victories are separate from Monday’s counting of contested seats.
High turnout adds interest to the results
The strong voter turnout has added significance to the results.
The first phase recorded 76.41% turnout, while the second phase recorded 70.68%. Across both phases, participation was higher than in the previous comparable election cycle.
The high participation provides political parties with a large voter base to analyse once the final ward-by-ward numbers are available.
For the BJP, a strong performance would reinforce its position in urban Rajasthan under Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma. For Congress, gains in major cities and municipal bodies would provide evidence of a stronger organisation at the grassroots level.
What happens next
Counting will continue through Monday as election officials declare results from individual wards and urban local bodies.
The early trends should therefore be treated as provisional. Control of individual municipal bodies will depend not only on the number of wards won statewide but also on whether a party secures a majority in the relevant corporation, council or municipality.
The final political picture will become clearer as more ward results are declared.
For now, the BJP has the early advantage, while Congress is looking to narrow the gap as counting progresses across Rajasthan.
This story may be updated as new information becomes available.
