Jaipur mayor election: BJP’s Sunil Kothari defeats Congress’ Sunita Mawar

BJPrsquos Sunil Kothari was elected Mayor of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation on Friday defeating Congress candidate Sunita Gupta Mawar in a direct contest amid protests and allegations by the Opposition party news agency IANS reportedKothari a councillor from Ward 112 secured 89 votes crossing the majority mark of 76 in the 150member corporation Mawar received 60 votesJaipur Rajasthan Newly elected Mayor Sunil Kothari says Cleanliness will be our top prioritymdashnot just in terms of proper sweeping and cleaning but also by establishing a proper system for it A wellorganised system for cleanliness should be set up across Jaipur cityhellip pictwittercomYp8OIq8FeVmdash IANS ians_india September 25 2026Congress protests during Jaipur mayoral electionThe mayoral election was marked by protests and allegations from Congress during the voting processCongress MLA Rafiq Khan reached the municipal corporation headquarters but was stopped from entering the voting area He later staged a sitin outside the corporation office along with Kishanpol MLA Amin Kagzi and Jaipur Congress City President Sunil SharmaCongress leaders alleged that some of the partyrsquos councillors were being prevented from entering the voting area to cast their votes The situation was subsequently brought under control and the councillors were allowed to proceed to votingKhan and Kagzi also alleged that people without authorised roles were being allowed to enter and leave the polling area Khan demanded that CCTV recordings be reviewed to establish who entered the area and under what authorisationDuring the proceedings Congress councillors also clashed with police near the main gate while attempting to enter the voting area Congress councillor Mukesh Chhapola led the group during the confrontationBJP MLA Gopal Sharma was also stopped by Jaipur Congress City President Sunil Sharma while he was moving towards the voting area Following a brief protest by Congress workers Sharma was escorted outsideSunil Kothari Sunita Mawar among first to arriveEarlier in the morning BJP candidate Sunil Kothari and Congress candidate Sunita Mawar were among the first to reach the municipal corporation headquarters Both candidates expressed confidence about their respective prospectsSeveral councillors were seen bowing in reverence at the entrance of the municipal corporation before entering the premises to cast their votesKothari is the elected councillor from Ward 112 He has previously served as BJP Jaipur City President state secretary and state vicepresident and is a member of the BJP State Executive CommitteeIn the last municipal elections Kothari defeated Congress candidate Ashish Sharma by 905 votesCongress fielded senior councillor Sunita Gupta Mawar from Ward 118 this time She had served as a councillor four times and was selected as the partyrsquos official candidate for the mayoral electionAfter the withdrawal of other nominations Mawar and Kothari remained the two candidates in the mayoral contestBJP had 78 councillors in 150member corporationThe Jaipur Municipal Corporation has 150 wards The recent municipal elections left the BJP with 78 councillors Congress with 57 and 15 IndependentsThe majority mark for the mayorrsquos election was 76 votes BJP entered the election with 78 councillors while Congress had 57 The 15 Independent councillors therefore attracted attention during the election with Kothari ultimately securing 89 votesAs per the election schedule voting for the Jaipur Mayorrsquos post was conducted from 10 am to 2 pm Counting began immediately after polling concluded with the result declared soon afterThe deputy mayor election is scheduled for SaturdayWith IANS inputs