Jaipur: Pink City is poised to enter the 2026 municipal elections with a significantly altered civic structure compared to previous years. Since the 2015 elections, the city’s governance has undergone substantial transformation from a single municipal corporation with 91 wards to two separate corporations comprising 250 wards in 2020 and has now reverted to a singular corporation with 150 wards. After a draw of lots Thursday, the city mayoral post is again unreserved.Initially, in the 2015 elections, the mayoral post was unreserved, leading to BJP’s Nirmal Nahata becoming mayor after the elections. Nahata resigned in Dec 2016, paving the way for party colleague Ashok Lahoti to assume the role. Lahoti’s resignation followed his election as MLA in Dec 2018, resulting in BJP’s Vishnu Lata becoming mayor in early 2019.The dynamics shifted before the 2020 elections, as the Ashok Gehlot-led state govt divided the Jaipur Municipal Corporation into two entities: Jaipur Heritage and Jaipur Greater, which featured 100 and 150 wards, respectively. Both mayoral positions were designated for women from the OBC category. Following these elections, Munesh Gurjar of Congress became mayor of Jaipur Heritage, while Somya Gurjar of BJP took the helm of Jaipur Greater. However, in 2024, Munesh was suspended, and Kusum Yadav was appointed as acting mayor during her absence.Heading into the 2026 elections, the two corporations have been merged back into one Jaipur Municipal Corporation, reducing the total wards to 150 through delimitation, which presents significant implications for representation: each ward is now expected to encompass nearly 25,000 to 30,000 residents, considerably higher than the 9,000 to 13,000 people represented under the previous 250-ward framework.These changes will also reverberate through local political dynamics, as existing councillors may face new ward boundaries or the complete elimination of their previous wards. Political parties must adapt their candidate selection to reflect the new ward distribution. For the electorate, the 2026 elections will therefore unfold against a completely revised civic landscape, characterised by a singular corporation, a reduced number of wards with a greater number of electors, and an unreserved mayoral position.
