Jaipur: First-time BJP councillor Saroj Kanwar was elected deputy mayor of Jaipur Saturday after she defeated Congress candidate Salman Mansoori by 31 votes. Kanwar secured 89 votes against Mansoori’s 58 to become the first woman to hold the deputy mayor’s post in Jaipur.Of the 150 councillors in Jaipur Municipal Corporation, 149 cast their votes Saturday, with one councillor voting NOTA and another vote being rejected. “There was some resentment in the party after she was nominated for the post, and cross-voting was expected. No such thing, however, happened,” a senior BJP worker said.
First-time BJP councillor Saroj Kanwar was elected deputy mayor of Jaipur Saturday
Kanwar’s success followed Sunil Kothari’s victory in the Jaipur mayoral election where he defeated Congress candidate Sunita Mahawar by 29 votes a day earlier.In Jodhpur, BJP’s Vijay Singh Panwar defeated Congress candidate Abdul Karim by four votes to become deputy mayor. Panwar polled 52 votes against Karim’s 48. BJP had also won the mayoral election in Jodhpur Friday, with Prasann Chand Mehta defeating Congress candidate Rajendra Solanki.“Panwar is a heavyweight who defeated a relative of former chief minister Ashok Gehlot in the councillor election. He is also considered close to RSS,” a BJP worker said.
Mayor Sunil Kothari and deputy mayor Saroj Kanwar
In Kota, BJP’s Vivek Rajvanshi was elected deputy mayor unopposed after Congress decided not to field a candidate. BJP had won the mayoral post here a day earlier, with Anusuya Goswami defeating Congress candidate Sunita Suman 65-35. BJP has 57 councillors in the 100-member corporation.BJP’s winning streak in the urban local body polls, however, was broken in Sikar district’s Khatu Shyamji municipality, where the result had been pending for five days because ward 10 councillor Laxmi Devi had not cast her vote.In line with high court directions, Election Commission conducted counting from 10 am Saturday. Congress candidate Vinita Poonia was elected municipality chairperson after winning by a single vote. She secured 10 votes against nine won by BJP’s Prem Devi.
