Rajasthan votes in final phase of civic polls; 18,266 candidates in fray
Voters across Rajasthan went to the polls on Friday, 11 September, in the second and final phase of the state's urban local body elections, covering 147 civic bodies including six municipal corporations. Polling began at 7 am and continued until 6 pm, according to IANS and ANI reports.
With this phase, elections to all 309 urban local bodies in the state have been completed. Counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 8 am on Monday, 14 September, India TV News reported.
The scale of the exercise
The second phase covered six municipal corporations, 20 municipal councils and 121 municipalities, according to IANS. The six corporations are Jaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur and Pali, which together account for the state's largest urban electorates.
India TV News reported that 87,60,884 voters were eligible to vote at 9,758 polling stations across 4,852 wards, with 18,266 candidates in the fray. The State Election Commission had set itself a turnout target of 86 per cent for the 2026 civic polls; the first phase recorded a final turnout of 76.41 per cent.
Why the polls matter
Urban local body elections in Rajasthan are contested on party symbols and are widely read as a mid-term test of the ruling BJP government led by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, which came to power in December 2023, and of the Congress opposition. Control of the Jaipur and Jodhpur corporations in particular carries political weight beyond municipal budgets, given the cities' size and their role in the two parties' state organisations.
The elections also decide who runs services such as water supply, sanitation, street lighting and building approvals in the state's cities and towns for the next five years. The first phase, held earlier this month, covered the remaining 162 urban bodies, and its 76.41 per cent turnout was seen by the State Election Commission as a strong base to build on for the larger cities voting on Friday.
Both major parties campaigned on civic issues such as drainage, waste collection and the pace of infrastructure work in Jaipur, while also framing the contest in terms of the state government's record over the past two and a half years.
Arrangements on the ground
The State Election Commission deployed police and home guards at polling stations, with additional forces at booths marked as sensitive, ANI reported. Voters were required to carry a voter photo identity card or an approved alternative document. Electronic voting machines were used across the corporations, councils and municipalities, and polling in most wards was reported to be peaceful through the morning, according to ANI.
What happens next
Counting for both phases will take place on 14 September, and results for mayors, chairpersons and ward members are expected the same day. Attention will then turn to the election of mayors and deputy mayors in the six corporations, where the party with a majority of ward councillors will be in a position to take control.