Choosing Ashok Lahoti’s successor: Manoj Bharadwaj and Vishnu Lata locked in tight race for Jaipur mayor’s post

Since Ashok Lahoti has been elected as a legislator, BJP councillors have started lobbying for the post of mayor. In the race for mayor’s post, deputy mayor Manoj Bharadwaj and former chairman of the licensing committee Vishnu Lata are the frontrunners. In view of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, BJP will choose the new mayor keeping in view the caste equation. With this, the city will get the third mayor for the first time in a single tenure of five years. Ashok Lahoti is the second mayor who has been elected MLA during his tenure of mayor.

Like Lahoti, even Ashok Parnami was given ticket during his tenure as a mayor while Mohanlal Gupta and Sheel Dhabhai contested assembly elections after completing their term as mayor.

In the municipal elections 2014, the BJP had made Nirmal Nahata of Jain community as the mayor of Jaipur while Manoj Bhardwaj, who represents Brahmin community, became deputy mayor. Two years later, Ashok Lahoti hails from Vaishya community replaced Nahata and with this the BJP retained the equation of Vaishya-Brahmin for the post of mayor and deputy mayor intact. 

Now with Lahoti being elected as MLA, BJP may choose between a Vaishya or Brahmin councillor for the post of mayor. The names of deputy mayor Manoj Bhardwaj, former chairman of the licensing committee Vishnu Lata, the chairperson of the compounding committee Rakhi Rathore and former mayor Nirmal Nahata are being deliberated upon. 

If Bharadwaj or Lata is declared as the candidate for the post of mayor then the post of deputy mayor will be given to any Rajput or a Vaishya candidate. If the history of the municipal corporation is anything to go by, the BJP will promote the deputy mayor as a mayor and Bharadwaj is the strongest candidate in the race.

Former BJP president Ashok Parnami has served as the mayor of Jaipur from 2004 to 2008. In 2008, BJP had fielded Parnami from the Adarsh Nagar assembly constituency and after he was elected as a legislator, he resigned from the post of mayor. The then deputy mayor Pankaj Joshi was chosen as the fifth mayor of Jaipur. Instead of Joshi, Vimal Kumawat was elected as the deputy mayor.

Lata has been a former pradhan of Muhana Panchayat Samiti. He was the ticket contender from Sanganer assembly constituency, but BJP made Lahoti the candidate from Sanganer. According to sources, the assurance was given to make Lata a mayor and that is why he supported Lahoti.

According to the Rajasthan Municipality Act 2011, if any mayor, deputy mayor, the chairperson is elected as a legislator then he will have to resign from any one post within 14 days. Mayor Lahoti was elected legislator on December 11, therefore, he will have to submit resignation by December 24.

Frequent Change

The city will get the third mayor for the first time in a single tenure of five years. Ashok Lahoti is the second mayor who has been elected MLA during his tenure of mayor.