📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Lowdown
Politics
AAP wins majority in Baran council; Kamal Rathod's plan upends BJP-Congress math
✍️ Amar Ujala · Rajasthan
🗓 16 Sep 2026, 04:45 PM
👁 10
The Aam Aadmi Party secured 31 of the 60 seats in Baran municipal council, giving it a clear majority, thanks in part to the tactics of local leader Kamal Rathod, which disrupted the traditional BJP‑Congress contest.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) emerged as the single largest party in the Baran Municipal Council elections, winning 31 out of the 60 seats contested. The result gives AAP a comfortable majority, allowing it to form the council administration without needing a coalition.
Political analysts attribute the swing to the concerted ground‑level campaign led by Kamal Rathod, a local figure who coordinated candidate selection and voter outreach. Rathod's approach reportedly focused on addressing municipal issues such as water supply, sanitation and local employment, resonating with urban voters who had traditionally supported the BJP or Congress.
The outcome alters the usual BJP‑Congress arithmetic in Rajasthan’s smaller urban bodies, signalling a potential shift in voter sentiment ahead of the next state assembly polls. Both national parties have pledged to reassess their strategies in Baran and similar municipalities following the AAP breakthrough.
Local officials are now tasked with forming committees and allocating portfolios as per the council's rules, while AAP leaders have promised to prioritize civic services and transparency in governance.
The election also underscores the growing relevance of regional leaders like Rathod, whose tactical acumen appears to have reshaped the political landscape in this part of Rajasthan.
Political analysts attribute the swing to the concerted ground‑level campaign led by Kamal Rathod, a local figure who coordinated candidate selection and voter outreach. Rathod's approach reportedly focused on addressing municipal issues such as water supply, sanitation and local employment, resonating with urban voters who had traditionally supported the BJP or Congress.
The outcome alters the usual BJP‑Congress arithmetic in Rajasthan’s smaller urban bodies, signalling a potential shift in voter sentiment ahead of the next state assembly polls. Both national parties have pledged to reassess their strategies in Baran and similar municipalities following the AAP breakthrough.
Local officials are now tasked with forming committees and allocating portfolios as per the council's rules, while AAP leaders have promised to prioritize civic services and transparency in governance.
The election also underscores the growing relevance of regional leaders like Rathod, whose tactical acumen appears to have reshaped the political landscape in this part of Rajasthan.