Rajasthan civic polls: Congress wins Pali, bastion of BJP's Madan Rathore

Jaipur: The Congress has delivered a major blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Rajasthan's Pali Municipal Corporation, turning the party's traditional stronghold into a closely contested political battleground.

Pali is the home district of Rajasthan BJP President Madan Rathore, who has served as the party's Pali district president several times and was a two-time MLA from Sumerpur.

In a significant setback for the BJP, Congress not only emerged as the single largest party in the 65-member Municipal Corporation but also defeated the BJP in Rathore's own ward.

Congress won 29 of the 65 wards, while the BJP secured 21 seats.

Independent candidates emerged victorious in 15 wards.

Although Congress fell short of the 33 seats required for an outright majority, it finished eight seats ahead of the BJP.

The result marks a major political setback for the BJP, which had controlled the Pali local body for the past 10 years.

The Congress' victory is particularly significant because of Pali's association with Madan Rathore.

Rathore has held the position of BJP district president in Pali multiple times and remains one of the party's prominent leaders from the region.

The loss of his own ward further underlines the extent of the Congress' poll performance.

However, despite emerging as the largest party, Congress cannot form the municipal board on its own.

With 15 Independent Councillors holding the balance of power, the Congress will need to secure their support to reach the majority mark and stake its claim to the Mayor's post.

The BJP, meanwhile, is also expected to try to win over the Independent Councillors in an effort to prevent Congress from taking control of the civic body.

The coming days are therefore likely to see intense political negotiations, with Independent Councillors potentially emerging as kingmakers in Pali.

The Pali bypoll result is being viewed as one of the most significant outcomes of the Rajasthan local body elections, particularly because Congress has managed to make substantial gains in an area closely associated with the BJP's state unit leadership.

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