In Rajasthan, a new front opens up in BJP-Congress tussle: Reunification of three big municipal corporations

With the Lok Sabha elections over, the BJP government in Rajasthan seems to have put its focus back on its plan to unite the multiple municipal corporations in Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Kota — three of the biggest cities in the state — before the statewide urban local body elections in November 2025.

In an interview in February, Minister of State (independent charge) for Urban Development and Housing Jhabar Singh Kharra announced the decision to unite the civic bodies that had been bifurcated during the rule of the previous Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government.

In October 2019, former Urban Development Minister Shanti Dhariwal of the Congress announced the bifurcation of the three municipal corporations into two parts each. At present, two mayors run each of these cities. The number of municipal wards in these cities has also increased: from 91 to 250 in Jaipur, 65 to 150 in Jodhpur, and 65 to 160 in Kota.

BJP councillor Vimal Agarwal, from Ward 22 of Jaipur Municipal Corporation (Heritage), said the2019 division was an unnecessary political move. “Ashok Gehlot wanted a Congress board in the city, hence he decided to carry out delimitation, that too in such a way that Muslim-dominated wards were carved out in the old city to benefit his party. As a result, there are 32 Muslim councillors in JMC (Heritage) at present, with whom they managed to form the board in the Heritage municipality. In comparison, earlier there were only nine Muslim councillors in the combined JMC. The entire plan was made to benefit the Congress and to spend more on resources,” alleged Agarwal.

In the urban civic polls conducted in October 2020, the Congress formed the boards in four of the six newly created municipal corporations, with the BJP forming