Congress candidate Vinita Poonia has been elected chairperson of the Khatushyamji Municipality in Rajasthan’s Sikar district. She won by just one vote after 19 votes were counted from the chairperson election held on September 21. Congress got 10 votes, while BJP candidate Prem Devi Rulania got 9 votes.Key HighlightsVinita Poonia won the chairperson election by one vote.Congress got 10 votes and BJP got 9 votes.A total of 19 votes were counted.The result came after a court order allowed the votes to be counted.How the Election Became CloseThe Khatushyamji Municipality has 20 councillors. Congress had eight councillors and BJP also had eight. There were also three independent councillors and one councillor from the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP). This made every vote very important. The chairperson election was first held on September 21. But one Congress councillor, Lakshmi Devi from Ward 10, did not reach the voting place. Officials waited and extended the voting time, but the process was later stopped. The votes already cast were kept safely. The issue then went to the Rajasthan High Court. Vinita Poonia, who was also a councillor from Ward 11, asked the court for the votes already cast to be counted.The court directed officials to count the 19 votes instead of starting the whole process again. The result was then declared on Saturday.Vinita Poonia Wins by One VoteAfter counting, Vinita Poonia received 10 votes. BJP candidate Prem Devi Rulania received 9 votes. No other candidate was reported for the chairperson post.“Congress candidate Vinita Poonia was elected chairperson by one vote.”The result means Congress has secured the chairperson post in the Khatushyamji Municipality. The result was closely watched because both Congress and BJP had the same number of councillors before the chairperson vote.The one-vote result shows how important each councillor was in the election. The counting also brought an end to the uncertainty over the chairperson post. The election process had faced delays and legal action before the final result. With the counting now completed, Vinita Poonia will take charge as the new chairperson of the Khatushyamji Municipality.
