On Friday, September 11, 2026, Rajasthan conducted the final phase of its urban local body elections. Polling was largely peaceful, though a handful of incidents were reported, including glitches in electronic voting machines, forced entry into polling booths, and clashes between workers of rival parties in some locations.
The malfunctioning of EVMs caused disruptions and protests in several districts. Voters in Balotra, Jhalawar, Hanumangarh and Khairthal‑Tijara turned up in large numbers, with recorded turnout between 88% and 91%.
The state election commission reported an average turnout of 70.01% by the end of the day, with 61.35 lakh of the 87.63 lakh registered voters casting ballots. The second phase covered six municipal corporations, 24 municipal councils and 117 municipalities, using 9,750 polling booths across 4,774 wards. The first phase, held on September 9 in 162 urban local bodies, saw a 76.41% turnout.
In the municipal corporations, Jodhpur achieved the highest turnout at 71.10%, followed by Pali at 70.94%, Udaipur at 67.26%, Ajmer at 63.65%, Jaipur at 62.88% and Kota at 57.02%. Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma voted at Navodaya Teachers’ Training College in Jaipur, stressing that each vote strengthens the city’s development. Former chief minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot cast his ballot in Jodhpur, describing the situation in Rajasthan as “very serious” and criticizing the ruling BJP for lack of progress in urban areas over the past two and a half years.
