An unusual result in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district has put the spotlight on the chairperson election in Mundwa Municipality, where the BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 10 councillors but its official candidate failed to secure even a single vote.
BJP candidate Geeta Devi received zero votes, while Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) candidate Alka Devi Kandoi, backed by the Congress, won the chairperson’s post with 13 votes.
Independent candidate Ghanshyam Sadawat, popularly known as Vicky, finished just one vote behind with 12 votes.
BJP Won 10 of 25 Wards
The numbers from the municipal election had initially put the BJP in a strong position.
Of the 25 wards in Mundwa Municipality, the BJP won 10, the RLP secured seven, the Congress won three and Independents took five seats.
That made the BJP the single-largest party in the municipal body.
However, the arithmetic changed dramatically in the election for chairperson.
Despite the BJP having 10 elected councillors, its official candidate Geeta Devi ended the contest with zero votes.
Congress-RLP Had 10 Councillors, Alka Kandoi Got 13 Votes
The Congress and RLP joined hands for the chairperson election and backed Alka Devi Kandoi.
Together, the two parties had 10 councillors — seven from the RLP and three from the Congress.
Kandoi, however, secured 13 votes, three more than the combined strength of the two parties.
Her tally was enough to defeat Independent candidate Ghanshyam Sadawat, who received 12 votes.
Kandoi therefore won the chairperson’s election by the narrowest possible margin — just one vote.
Ghanshyam Sadawat Entered Contest as Independent
The election also drew attention because of Ghanshyam Sadawat’s candidature.
Sadawat had previously won a councillor election on a BJP ticket and had also been politically associated as a personal adviser to Rajasthan BJP state vice-president Dr Jyoti Mirdha.
According to reports, after the BJP chose Geeta Devi as its candidate for the chairperson’s post, Sadawat entered the contest as an Independent.
He went on to secure 12 votes, finishing just one vote short of the top post.
Zero Votes for BJP Candidate Becomes Talking Point
The most striking part of the result remains the BJP candidate’s zero-vote tally despite the party having the largest bloc of councillors in the 25-member municipality.
At the same time, the RLP-Congress-backed candidate secured three votes beyond the two parties’ combined numerical strength.
The outcome has therefore brought attention to the shifting equations among councillors during the chairperson election and the role of cross-party support in determining the final result.
In the end, the ward results gave the BJP the largest presence in Mundwa Municipality, but the numbers did not translate into control of the chairperson’s post, which went to RLP’s Alka Devi Kandoi by a single vote.
