Kota, September 15, 2026: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has crossed the majority mark in the Kota Municipal Corporation elections, winning 55 of the 100 wards. Results in three wards, however, remain pending due to Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) technical glitches, leading to re-polling scheduled for today (September 16) and the postponement of chairperson and vice-chairperson elections.
According to official figures, of the 97 wards where results have been declared, the BJP secured 55 seats, the Congress won around 38–40, and Independents took 3–4. This gives the BJP a clear majority in the 100-member civic body, even before the remaining results are finalized.
The counting process faced disruptions when EVMs malfunctioned in Wards 11, 44 and 87 of the Kota Municipal Corporation. Officials could not retrieve votes from the affected machines. A similar issue occurred at one booth in Ward 4 of Suket Municipality. The faulty EVMs have been secured, and a formal report was sent to the Rajasthan State Election Commission.
Re-Polling Schedule
The State Election Commission has ordered re-polling at the affected booths on September 16, 2026, from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Counting of the re-polled votes will take place on September 17 from 8:00 AM at designated centres. Only after these results are declared will the full composition of the Kota Municipal Corporation be confirmed.
Due to the incomplete results, elections for the posts of chairperson and vice-chairperson in Kota Municipal Corporation (and Suket Municipality) have been postponed until further notice. Similar delays have affected mayor elections in Jaipur and Jodhpur Municipal Corporations for the same reason.
Notable Wins and Political Context
Among the declared results, BJP veteran Vivek Rajvanshi won his fourth consecutive term as councillor from Ward 54, defeating the Congress candidate by a significant margin. Other close contests and independent victories were also recorded across the city. Congress workers staged a brief protest outside a counting centre over the delayed result in one of the affected wards, seeking transparency.
The Kota result forms part of the larger Rajasthan urban local body elections 2026. The BJP has emerged as the single largest party statewide and secured majorities in several municipal corporations, including Kota.