Alwar: BJP and Congress officially announced their mayoral candidates for the Alwar Municipal Corporation, with Suman Lata Agrawal representing BJP and Kamlesh Sharma from Congress submitting their nominations Wednesday.In a surprise move, independent candidate Rinkle Garg, who lost the councillor election from ward 36, also filed her nomination, raising speculation that she could serve as a strategic placeholder for Congress.Sources indicate that Agrawal’s candidacy was solidified following discussions with Union minister Bhupendra Yadav. On the morning of the nomination, three BJP candidates were taken to Yadav’s residence in Delhi at 6 am. While councillors Neha Manchanda and Apoorva Sharma were later sent back to the party camp, Agrawal proceeded to Alwar to formally submit her nomination. Minister of State for Forests Sanjay Sharma, along with former municipal chairperson Ajay Agrawal—who is also Suman Lata’s husband—played key roles in confirming her candidacy.For the past couple of days, there had been speculation about Manchanda, a councillor from ward 48, being a potential candidate, as BJP considered selecting a representative from the Purusharthi community, which has previously produced two BJP mayors.Congress followed a similar course by planning to submit three nominations. Ultimately, Kamlesh Sharma was chosen as their candidate after discussions with Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully and former Union minister Jitendra Singh. Jully has been heavily involved in the civic election campaign, rallying support among winning councillors and former challengers to strengthen the Congress side.Adding to the intrigue, Rinkle Garg’s nomination—despite her defeat—has fuelled speculation due to her close ties with Jully’s family through her husband, jeweller Deepak Garg. Congress workers accompanied her during the nomination process, leading to further conjecture that her candidacy might be called off during the withdrawal phase.
